


Two (and a half) Rebels

by baekhanjuseyo



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Space, Explicit Sexual Content, M/M, Panic Attacks, Sci-Fi, Space Rangers, Swearing, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-29
Updated: 2017-11-29
Packaged: 2019-02-01 16:12:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 54,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12708417
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baekhanjuseyo/pseuds/baekhanjuseyo
Summary: [Prompt #187] Jongdae, a lonely space ranger, decides to take a break in one of the biggest cities of the galaxy. His boring vacations take a turn for the worst when two wanted criminals break down his apartment door, involving him in a whirlwind of dangerous situations and complicated emotions.





	Two (and a half) Rebels

**Author's Note:**

> Author's notes: 
> 
> WARNINGS!!!!!:  
> Graphic depiction of violence (with blood and injuries that might be gory for some people), Graphic depiction of panic attacks and anxiety, Swearing, Sexual themes.
> 
> To my prompter: I hope I made you proud. Thank you for prompting CBX, because I always wanted to write them and you gave me the push I needed. I hope you're happy with this fic and that if it doesn't fit your exact idea, then you can still appreciate it.  
> To S., H., K. and all my other friends who had to endure me complaining about this piece for months: thank you! I couldn't have hoped for a better support system! You guys are literally my rock. I wouldn't have been able to finish this without you. Thank you <3 Major shout-out to S. for being the best beta ever! Love you!  
> To the mods: You're the sweetest and bestest mods ever. Your constant encouragements and presence made this fest the most enjoyable I've ever joined. You really are there for us readers and writers, you listen to us and take our comments to heart. Thank you for your amazing messages after each check-ins, for the badges and the little stickers and all your initiatives. I cannot thank you enough for this fest.  
> Finally, to you who is reading this right now: Thank you for stopping by and giving this piece a chance! I hope you will love my work! Please don't hesitate to leave kudos and comments, I read every single one of them and I promise I will respond to each and everyone of you once the reveals go up! I cherish you so very much and you're really making my day!!!

 

Fantasia is as close to paradise as one can get in the A3 galaxy. Its three suns assure constant sunny days, with enough ray protection to forgo capes and other clothes designed to keep one from burning alive. Rows of bars and shops and casinos line the busy streets of the planet, offering to passersby everything they can wish for: delicacies from the outer Beta ring, the newest fashion items of the Milky Way, alcohol strong enough to knock even a Krylos on its tail. Fantasia is one of the best places in the universe to unwind and relax, to enjoy life to the fullest.

 

It isn’t Jongdae’s first visit to Fantasia. In fact, he would consider himself pretty familiar with the planet. Since he took in a job as a space ranger in the A3 galaxy, Jongdae has often been called to Fantasia, never for anything major. Some petty crimes most of the time, nothing that justified staying too long and visiting. That’s why he decided, when he’s been offered to take some vacations to recharge, to finally see what the hype is all about.

 

So far, Jongdae has nothing bad to say. It’s hot, that’s for sure, and sometimes he has to change shirts in the middle of the day because he can’t cope with the sweat trickling down his back and under his arms, but there’s something refreshing in being able to feel the suns’ rays on his bare skin. Jongdae, a native of Jundo, solar planet _par excellence_ , grew up fearing the seven suns and their deadly effects. Here in Fantasia, he has nothing to fear.

 

If Jondgae had one complaint to voice, it would probably be that he’s bored, a fact that makes him feel a bit pathetic. Barely one week into his vacations and he has already done everything he could think of. He already swam away in the ocean and soaking in the sun on the beautiful purple beaches, already tried most of the restaurants around his apartment, already got so drunk the bouncer of the bar had to haul him up in an autobot to get him back home. He shopped, he walked around. He even tried to space surf on one of the newest solar wave devices he could rent. Jongdae is truly and utterly bored.

 

It is probably why he’s been getting into a routine lately. First, he wakes up at five am sharp. This is something Jongdae has to thank his training as a space ranger for: no matter where he is in the galaxy, he’ll always wake up at five. In the ranger facility, they used to ring loud bells until all the trainees were up and about. They only had fifteen seconds to get dressed and grab their weapons before they were shoved in their first class of the day, no breakfast offered. “You have to be ready for every situation” his trainer used to say.

 

Then, he grabs a bite of moon stone pancakes at the little burger’n’breakfast place down the block from his apartment. The place, like all restaurants in Fantasia, is beautiful and well-maintained, with servers fluent in all of A3’s languages. By the time Jongdae gets there, it’s usually a girl that serves him, beautiful in a strange way with her six eyes and thirteen arms spreading across the room to serve six tables at once.

 

After that, Jongdae hits the beach. He rents a parasol, a crypto mat with manual temperature controls and sets himself close enough to the water to feel the gust of wind but far enough to not be bothered by children running around. Sometimes, Jongdae gets someone to share their Info-tablet with him so he can check the news and be up to date with the crimes perpetuated in the galaxy. His boss, Yunho, has forbidden him to bring his with him, going as far as stealing it from his luggage before Jongdae boarded his rangers’ issued ship.

 

Other times, Jongdae does nothing. He watches the suns rotate in the crimson sky of Fantasia or the small children play together with no regards to their race or origins. He watches couples stroll hand in hand, or foot and foot in some cases. He counts the number of surfers falling from the sun waves boards directly in the ocean. When he gets hungry, Jongdae makes the small commute to the restaurant alley and randomly chooses a place to satisfy his hunger. Tonight, he settles down for a Salafos fusion place, full of meals way too spicy for him. Jongdae burns his tongue more than once and order three times more milk than usual. (He usually orders a lot; milk is the best gift the Milky Way could ever offer to the universe.)

 

Then he goes back to his apartment just in time to watch _Jeopardy_. Jongdae considers it a good day if he gets more than three answers right for the entire duration of the show. When it’s over, he closes his TV, makes sure the door is locked and his thermoguns are easy to access and heads to bed.

 

That’s where Jongdae is, lying under the covers and counting the glow-in-the-dark stars on his ceiling when there’s a knock on his door. In fact, there’s several knocks, in a rhythmic pattern that reminds him of the legendary human song “We will rock you”. It intrigues Jongdae for two reasons. One, it deviates from his vacation’s routine quite a bit and second, he’s not expecting anybody. Nobody even knows he’s here. It was also part of the conditions he agreed on when Jongdae accepted the vacation. Yunho had been afraid Jongdae would manage to bully one of the recruits to fill him in and do small work while relaxing.

 

Jongdae doesn’t move from his bed, ears wide open to catch any sounds coming from the front door. His first guess is that some kids are playing a trick on him, but it’s too quiet for that. Jongdae is about to reach for the thermogun lying under his bed when a small sound akin to the release of a breath is heard. He barely has time to fling himself off of the bed before the front door – and a major portion of the only room of the apartment – is consumed by smoke.

 

Jongdae grabs his thermogun, checking the gauge to see that it’s been completely recharge since he last used it three weeks ago. Keeping his eyes shut in case the gas turns out to be a blinding one, Jongdae strains his ears to try to assess the three basics to any situation: how many people, which weapons, how many escape routes. He already spotted the window behind him, which leads to a four-story tall fall. Nothing he can’t overcome. Jongdae gets slowly to his feet, still crouched behind the bed to attempt to make a run for the window when a voice speaks out:

 

“You really didn’t think this through, huh?” The voice is clearly male; with a singing quality to it that makes it pleasant to the ears. It sounds annoyed though, and nonchalant enough to not bother with whispers and secrecy.

 

“Well we don’t really have the luxury of time, do we?” another voice responds. This one is high-pitched enough to be one of a female, but sounds too robotic to belong to a living organism. An autotranslator then.

 

Jongdae stays perfectly still as footsteps make their way towards him. His fingers are glued to the trigger, well-aware that he only has a small window of opportunity. He’s clearly outnumbered so he’ll have only one chance. He waits until one of the guys emerges from the smoke and jumps to his feet. Jongdae shoots before he really has time to aim, only wanting to create a diversion long enough to make a bee-line to the window. He hears a groan, sign that he at least hit his target, and runs. He almost has his fingers around the clasp when something wraps itself around his left ankle and pulls.

 

Jongdae falls flat on his face, groaning as he feels his nose give up at the impact. Fresh blood starts pouring down his chin. He uses his momentum to roll on his back and grab whatever’s around his ankle. It feels like some kind of rope but cold enough to be made of metal. Jongdae pulls at it with all his strength.

 

A body emerges from the smoke, covered in a black skin-tight catsuit. Jongdae doesn’t have time to see anything else before the body’s on him. He struggles, tries to push him away so he can reach the thermogun he dropped during his fall but the man on top of him is stronger. He pins Jongdae’s arms to the floor with his knees, dislodging the rope from Jongdae’s ankle to hold it against his throat. Jongdae stops squirming around when he feels it slightly cut his skin. Malleable metal.

 

“I would’ve appreciated a little help,” the man on top of him calls out, voice deformed by the autotranslator mask on his mouth. It covers most of his features, except his droopy but warm eyes. His black hair, disheveled and in need of a haircut, frames his face in a delicate but manly way. It accentuates the cut of his jawline and the paleness of his skin. He’s clearly human, or of human origin.

 

“He shot me straight in the chest!” The other guy says as he reaches them, looking down at Jongdae with a murderous gaze. His purple hair is long, reaching about mid-back and pulled back from his face by a hair tie. His eyes glow silver under the light of the three suns with no visible pupils. A Salafos then. There’s blood on his chest, tainting his white shirt red. The man picks up the thermogun, the riffle aimed at Jongdae’s head.

 

“Why did you attack us? You’re supposed to help us get away from here,” the Salafos says, annoyed. The man on top of Jongdae pulls the rope away from Jongdae’s neck to let him answer.

 

“You must have the wrong person,” Jongdae wheezes out. “I have no idea who you are or why you fucking blew up my front door but if you don’t leave me alone right now, I’ll report you to the rangers!”

 

Jongdae’s not sure what is so funny about what he said but the human starts laughing so hard he spits on Jongdae’s face. Jongdae uses his sudden inattention to throw him off of his chest by a strong push of his hips. The man rolls away from him, still laughing hysterically.

 

“Do you think we’re afraid of some rangers?” the human asks, wiping away tears of mirth from the corner of his eyes. “Now, stop lying and tell us the truth: where’s the ship? When are we leaving?”

 

“I seriously have no idea what you’re talking about.” Jongdae’s so confused. The two men in his apartment are clearly criminals, with the number of weapons strapped to their waist. They’re criminals and they broke into his apartment because they want his help. What is this madness?

 

“We’ve been in contact for weeks” the Salafos roars, losing patience. “You can’t chicken out now, not when it’s the most crucial moment of the whole operation.”

 

“Listen, you clearly have the wrong person,” Jongdae starts, calming down enough to seem like the bigger person. He doesn’t want to provoke them, not when they have his weapon and look strong enough to break him in half with their bare hands. “I’m a space ranger and I’m here on a forced vacation, okay? I don’t know who you are or what you want, but I’m gonna ask you to leave my apartment right now or I’m calling back up.”

 

The human snickers as he rises to his feet, making his way towards the front door. Now that the smoke has dissipated, Jongdae can see that no real damage has been done. The front door doesn’t exist anymore, shattered in pieces so small they’re not even visible, but other than that, the apartment looks spotless. The human is looking outside in the hallway.

 

“We didn’t make a mistake,” the Salafos retorts. “This is apartment 305BR, which is exactly the one our contact gave us. You’re lying to us. Who are you trying to cover?”

 

“I’m telling you I have nothing to do with any of this! Are you even listening to me?”

 

Jongdae’s losing his patience now. He’s covered in blood, held at gunpoint by some type of criminals claiming they’ve been secretly in contact for weeks. He can’t wait to clear this misunderstanding. When that’s done, Jongdae will call Yunho, tell him everything and get his word that he’ll never be forced to go on vacations ever again. That’s what happens when he stops working: he gets bored and then assaulted in his own home.

 

“Gentlemen, I’m sorry to interrupt this wonderful conversation, but may we consider leaving this place?” the human says from the doorway, head still out of the door. “We have some company.”

 

Jongdae is pulled to his feet before he can even blink. The Salafos is thrusting the thermogun in his hands with brusque movements, eyes wild with something akin to urgency.

 

“If you value your life, you’ll do as I say. If you try anything funny, I’ll kill you. Understood?” Jongdae nods, a little bit afraid. He’s heard stories about the Salafos, how they don’t make threat, only promises.

 

The human is hurrying back inside the apartment, trashing the place as he goes. He throws down the TV, smashing it in millions of pieces on the ground. The table is split in half and tossed to the side of the room. The mattress is pulled from the bedframe and tore open. “We need to make them believe there’s been a robbery going on” he explains when he catches Jongdae’s confused gaze.

 

“Listen,” the Salafos grabs his attention, hands holding two solarguns. Jongdae gulps. Thermoguns can hurt quite a bit and even kill if aimed to the head, but they are generally used to calm people long enough to arrest them. Solarguns are built for one purpose: to kill. “We need to get out of here as fast as we can. You’ve been living here for a while now, lead the way.”

 

“What? Me?” Jongdae stutters out, shocked. “Where should we even go?”

 

“Do you have a ship?” the human asks, back to their sides. His metal rope is back in his hands and he’s twirling the end of it around his wrist for a better grip. Jongdae nods and the man smiles, teeth covered by his autotranslator. “Then let’s leave this planet.”

 

Jongdae spins on his heels and goes straight for the window. It’s the only exit he knows except the front door, which seems to not be an option at the moment. The glass shatters easily under the weight of his thermogun.

 

“We’re gonna jump out of the window?” The human’s voice is full of disbelief.

 

“Well, would you rather face whatever’s outside my door right now?” Jongdae counters, exasperate. At his biggest surprise, the human just smiles and gives him a pat on the back. “I like you, ranger,” he says, reaching out a hand to shake Jongdae’s. “My name’s Baekhyun, and  big boy over there is Minseok. Welcome to the group.”

 

Jongdae introduces himself, shaking Baekhyun’s hand. And then, Baekhyun pushes him out of the window, jumping behind him, Minseok on their heels. The fall, like Jongdae predicted, is nothing dangerous. They land on their feet, not taking a second to breathe before Jongdae starts running towards the parking at the end of the road. They haven’t taken three steps before bullets start raining down on them.

 

“Shit, they’re fast,” Baekhyun mutters under his breath, accelerating his pace.

 

“Are we far from the ship?” Minseok asks Jongdae, blindly shooting behind him. Jongdae has half a mind to tell him not to do that; there are tourists all around.

 

“We’re almost there.”

 

Jongdae has never run this fast in his life. His lungs are constricting, his legs are burning and there’s so much sweat running down the side of his face that it washes out all the dried blood on his skin. They must look like madmen to everyone roaming the streets. He feels like one, that’s for sure.

 

Jongdae’s rangers issued ship is still parked in the same lot he left it one week ago when he first arrived in Fantasia. He thanks the heavens that he had thought about refueling it when he landed. Jongdae jumps on the boarding stairwell, climbing the steps three at a time. Minseok is still firing away, hitting more and more opponents as they gain territory on them.

 

“Hurry, hurry,” Baekhyun yells as Jongdae and him emerges in the control room of the ship. Jongdae is already pushing down buttons, settling behind the wheel. “We need to get the fuck out!”

 

“I’m trying!” Jongdae screams in return, hands shaking with the adrenaline pulsing in his veins. “We need to ask permission to the control centre before we can fly away and…”

 

“Fuck the control centre,” Baekhyun says as he pushes down the fuel button. The ship jumpstarts into action, taking off before the anchor is retracted. It makes a furious sound of metal scrapping. “Let’s get out to the outer range. The comet activity will cover our trace.”

 

“This is so against the law,” Jongdae whines but does as he’s told. From one of the screen, he can see their opponents, all dressed in black with mean looking guns, becoming smaller and smaller as they fly away. The control centre is bombarding them with messages telling them to come back and ask for permission and Jongdae’s training is screaming at him to obey. But Baekhyun’s gaze is heavy on his nape.

 

It all slows down when they reach the outer range. As Baekhyun predicted, the comets falling around the ship blur their signal, disturbing the communication with the control centre. The messages come interrupted until they stop coming altogether and silence falls in the control room of Jongdae’s ship. 

 

“That was wild!” Baekhyun exclaims, falling back in the co-pilot’s chair with a brief laugh. Jongdae can’t share the sentiment, especially since Minseok’s back from the boarding stairwell and leaning on the door of the control room. He looks murderous, eyes burning holes in Jongdae’s scalp, body covered in blood.

 

The adrenaline is starting to come down, leaving Jongdae tired and shaken up. His hands tremble where he’s clutching the wheel of his ship. A part of him wants to relax because he’s not in immediate danger anymore, but the bigger part of him, his ranger part, urges him to stay on his guard. He’s still surrounded by people he doesn’t know, people who are armed and are clearly not afraid to use them.

 

“You have some explanations to do,” Minseok says from behind Jongdae, voice low with anger. Baekhyun hums from beside him, feet now propped up the dashboard. Jongdae winces; it’s going to take him hours to scrub the dirt out of the control board.

 

“ _You_ have some explanations to do!” The rage comes on full force, burning all the doubts and fears pilling up in Jongdae’s stomach. “You come in my house, blow up my door, bully me with guns until I flee, spurting nonsense about some sort of alliances between us! Let me tell you one last time: I am not the person you’re looking for. I’m a ranger, have been for the last ten years. I’ve never talked to you, I’m not your contact so let me go home.”

 

Jongdae only realizes he’s screaming at the end of his tirade, when the silence comes back to the cockpit and his ears ring with it. He’s also panting, breath coming hard from his mouth. He might even be hyperventilating. The events of the last few minutes finally hit him, overwhelming his senses and crowding his mind.

 

“Oh stars,” Jongdae moans, hiding his face in his hands. “I’m never going back home again.” That’s the only thing he can think about. He’s been kidnapped by criminals. They’ll probably kill him or worst, sell him to a slave trader, where he’ll be stuck working as a whore or a miner until he dies. Oh stars.

 

“I think he’s losing it,” Baekhyun comments. It clearly isn’t directed at Jongdae but something in the robotic intonation of his voice brings Jongdae back from the edge of a panic attack. His vision clears from the fog of his mind and he focuses back on Baekhyun’s face. He’s close, closer than he was before, staring down at Jongdae with a hint of concern in his droopy eyes. “You okay?”

 

Jongdae nods and the small movement sways him to the side. He would’ve fallen straight out of his seat if it weren’t for Baekhyun’s hand stabilizing him by the shoulder.

 

“Okay, you need to lie down,” Baekhyun says. Without waiting for Jongdae’s response, he hauls him out of the pilot seat like Jongdae weights even less than a feather. Jongdae wants to protest; someone needs to pilot the ship or they’ll crash in a comet and die; but his mouth is pasty and his tongue is heavy. His body feels weightless or maybe like he’s floating in a cloud, which isn’t possible because if it were, people would’ve invented a way to make money out of it.

 

Baekhyun pulls Jongdae out of the cockpit, arms strong and sturdy around his small frame. Jongdae walks through the ship in a daze, not completely out of it but not completely aware of what is happening neither. Baekhyun doesn’t know the layout of the ship and it’s evident with the way he stops and opens every door he sees until he finds a room with a sleeping pod.

  
“Rest,” Baekhyun murmurs gently as he helps Jongdae lay down, propping his head up with a pillow. The warmth of his body leaves and Jongdae lets out a strangle cry of panic. His heart is kick-starting in his chest, bringing back a tremor of fear from the pit of Jongdae’s stomach to the hollow of his throat. He wants to breathe, but something clogs up his trachea. There’s no air coming in, no air at all, and he’s choking.

 

“Rest,” Baekhyun repeats. Something small and pointy pierces the skin of Jongdae’s left arm. He wants to look, because he wants to know what is happening to him but he can’t. His eyelids feel heavy with artificial drowsiness. Jongdae wants to fight it, but his body is already weighted down by the events of the day and he can’t help but surrender to sleep.

 

 

 

 

 

Jongdae has been living alone since as long as he can remember. Even back in Jundo, before ranger school and travels all over the galaxies, when he was a little child cowering under the deadly rays of the suns, Jongdae had been alone. He doesn’t have any recollection of his mother. From what his father told him before his death, she was beautiful and cruel. She wanted a child and used Jongdae’s father for it. When she gave birth and looked down at Jongdae crying in her arms, she regretted everything.

 

“She left us a few days after your birth,” Jongdae’s father would say whenever Jongdae asked him, tears running down his cheeks because some kids in the streets made fun of him for not having a mommy.

 

Jongdae’s father was a true Judean, taller than most species of the Beta ring with skin as thick as rock, designed to protect vital organs from the damages of the suns. Slave of Jundo’s Ruler, he worked in the mines of the planet, extracting thermarock used to fuel thermoguns. He vowed, after Jongdae’s birth, to take care of his son and he did until he died crushed in a landslide. Jongdae was three years old.

 

Jundo’s custom is to let children of fallen slaves live on their own. With no one to tend to their needs, they usually die in a couple of days, a few weeks at most. Jongdae, however, managed to stay alive by stealing food from cramped backyards and, as soon as he hit five years old, convinced a merchant to hire him as a vendor. Wrapped in a solar-protecting cape three sizes too big, Jongdae would sell pretty much everything and anything, from conserved fruits from Izatka to dream capsules to laser knives. In exchange, the merchant was to give him leftover food and a silver coin.

 

Jongdae survived for years, abandoned by his whole community, before the space rangers, looking for new recruits, stopped in Jundo with their tailored uniforms and flashy spaceships and, with nothing to lose and all to gain, Jongdae joined them. By joining the ranger, Jongdae gained a family, a group of people who understood his struggles and his ways, but it never completely erased the loneliness that came from growing up alone.

 

That’s why Jongdae freaks out when he wakes up to noises in his ship. One second, he’s sleeping, mind deep in dreams. The next, he’s up and about, hand blindly searching for his thermogun. He doesn’t find anything, which only increases the beginning of panic he’s feeling. It takes a while before memories from yesterday resurface in Jongdae’s mind. He remembers the explosion, the running, the escaping. The two weird aliens practically abducting him.

 

Jongdae follows the noises out of the room he’s been sleeping in until he reaches the small kitchenette. There he finds Baekhyun, feet propped on the table, eating leftover sundried tomatoes. The guy is singing as he’s eating and Jongdae recognizes some old human songs.

 

“Oh, you’re up!” Baekhyun exclaims when he notices Jongdae standing in the doorway. Without the autotranslator mask, his voice is sweet like honey, slightly nasal. He’s speaking the Universal Common Tongue, language shared by most of the official businesses and governmental institutions. “You’ve been asleep for…” he looks down at his watch “twenty hours.”

 

It comes as a surprise to Jongdae because he doesn’t feel like he has slept for so long. His body is still tired, muscles stiff and resistant to movements. It must’ve been the drug Baekhyun gave him.

 

“Are you gonna answer some of my questions, now?” Jongdae asks, weary to the bones. He’s given up the idea of calling the rangers to help him. Twenty hours is a long time in space and they could already be in another galaxy. Fantasia is clearly far behind him now and so are his vacations. To be fair, space rangers aren’t as equipped as, let’s say, the Imperial Fleet, to chase ships around the galaxies and Jongdae isn’t sure what good it would do to call them.

 

“Sure,” Minseok says from behind him, making Jongdae jump. Baekhyun laughs at him and Jongdae winces, not used to loud noises. “I guess we owe you some explanations, since we dragged you in this mess.”

 

“Who are you?” It’s the first question Jongdae can think of and, nonetheless, the most important. Jongdae sits down at the table, ignoring the way Baekhyun pushes the plate of tomatoes closer to him. He’s nowhere near hungry, with his stomach tied in knots from worry and the remaining of drug in his veins. “Where are you from? What do you want from me?”

 

Minseok leans on the doorway. He exchanges a glance with Baekhyun and keeps eating as if he couldn’t care less about the conversation. It grates on Jongdae’s nerves, the silent exchanges between them. They act like they’re trying to come up with a lie and that’s the last thing Jongdae deserves.

 

“We’re collectors,” Minseok finally says, silver eyes burning into Jongdae’s, as if daring him to ask further. Jongdae doesn’t need to; he knows people like them, knows that they like to call themselves collectors but are in fact thieves, flying across the galaxies to steal and sell banned and illegal goods. “I’m from Salafos, obviously, and Baekhyun’s from Earth.”

 

It explains the autotranslator mask. Humans are lazy and bad at languages. “You didn’t answer my last question,” Jongdae presses, impatient for answers. He can’t understand why collectors would want him, of all people. He’s nobody, only a space ranger assigned to the most boring galaxy. “What do you want from me?”

 

“Nothing,” Baekhyun responds, popping a tomato in his mouth. He crushes it with his teeth and juice comes dribbling down his chin. It’s messy and Baekhyun groans as he wipes it with the back of his hand. Minseok makes a vague disgusted noise from behind Jongdae and it makes the latter sketch a small smile.

 

“We’re kind of in a bad situation right now,” Baekhyun continues once he’s cleaned up. “And we were informed that someone in your apartment could help us get out of Fantasia so we jumped on the occasion.”

 

“Clearly, we’ve been lied to” Minseok follows up, leaving the doorway to sit at the table with them. He roughly pushes Baekhyun’s legs off of the table with a glare, before facing Jongdae. Somehow, seated next to him, Minseok doesn’t look as scary as before. “Since you’ve been swearing on your honor we haven’t been in contact, you’re not the person we’re looking for.”

 

Jongdae feels a burst of hope filling his chest. “So you can let me go then?”

 

Baekhyun shakes his head, sending Jongdae a pitiful apologetic smile. “It’s not that simple. We can’t go back to Fantasia without expecting a host committee and, well, you’ve seen how welcoming they are.”

 

Jongdae nods. Even thinking about what happened yesterday makes his blood boil in his veins. He hasn’t had time (or didn’t take the time) to wash out and assess the damage, but he’s pretty sure he’s covered in bruises and cuts.

 

“We need to get to Vasenta,” Minseok says, bringing Jongdae’s attention back to the conversation at hand. “There, we’ll be able to get a ship and go our own way. For now, you need to stay with us. When we land on Vasenta, we’ll be able to fix your ship and let you go.”

 

“Fix my ship?” Jongdae jolts, alarmed. His ship was fine when he landed on Fantasia for his vacations. Hell, his ship seemed fine yesterday when they were escaping from the fires of their enemies. Minseok has the decency to look sheepish, almost shy. It’s such an odd sight, him who only showcased strength and borderline aggression towards Jongdae.

 

“When you were freaking out of your head,” Baekhyun explains, voice light and mocking, “Minseok piloted and, well, he’s not good at it.”

 

“Shut up,” Minseok growls, reaching to hit Baekhyun on the shoulder.

 

“It’s true though!” Baekhyun laughs, looking at Jongdae to prompt him to do the same. “We hit a couple of comets while flying through the outer ring and it damaged some of the components of your ship.”

 

“Why do I feel like this is a euphemism?” Jongdae mutters. He wants to be angry and throw a tantrum, but what is done is done. Being angry wouldn’t change a thing, except maybe piss them off and it’s the last thing Jongdae wants to do. After all, they have his ship and they’re armed.

 

“Hey, your ship’s still flying,” Minseok points out, deadpanned. “It could’ve been much worse.”

 

Jongdae has to agree with that. Silence falls in the kitchenette, all of its occupants deep in thoughts. Somehow, the talk they had reassures Jongdae. He had been afraid Baekhyun and Minseok were looking for him specifically. He really doesn’t want any trouble and it seems like he’ll be able to get back to his life quite quickly. Vasenta is only a couple of lightyears away, nothing his ship can’t cover in a matter of days. Soon enough, he’ll go back to the ranger HQ to get dispatched somewhere in the galaxy. Jongdae _cannot_ wait.

 

Baekhyun leaves Jongdae and Minseok some time later, stating that he needs to go back to the cockpit because “someone needs to do a good job with what’s left of this ship.” His words pull Minseok to his feet in an instant, cursing and throwing whatever he can find Baekhyun’s way. Baekhyun’s laugh resonates long after he’s gone.

 

“I’m sorry for putting you in this position,” Minseok addresses Jongdae. He looks sincere and it eases the discomfort Jongdae has been feeling since yesterday. “We’re really in trouble right now and we didn’t have any option but to take the chance.”

 

“It’s okay,” Jongdae finds himself saying and he’s surprised to see to know that he means it. Minseok and Baekhyun might be criminals, but they don’t seem bad per say. They’re dangerous, certainly, but they’ve shown nothing but good behavior towards Jongdae. “I’m just glad we’ll be able to settle this soon.”

 

Minseok nods, agreeing. He mentions that he’s going to go check on Baekhyun, leaving Jongdae alone in the kitchenette. The latter is not hungry, heart settled in his chest but head swimming with questions. Now that he’s alone, he regrets not pushing further his interrogatory. Jongdae wants to know what the mess they’re stuck in is, how they got stuck in Fantasia without a ship, who they really are. He has so many questions and so little answers.

 

Jongdae has a couple of days before they arrive to Vasenta to satisfy his curiosity.

 

 

 

 

 

Jongdae isn’t successful in his mission to discover the truth. He finds out some information: Minseok’s family still lives in Salafos, Baekhyun hasn’t gone back to Earth in almost twenty years and the mess involves stolen ships and mercenaries. Other than that, Minseok and Baekhyun both do a good job in diverting attention to some safer subjects, much to Jongdae’s dismay.

 

They’re interesting, though, and they always keep Jongdae on his toes. Baekhyun has taken to ask a lot of personal questions about Jongdae’s life, from his family to the last time he had sex. Jongdae had spluttered and turned red, stuttering through a half-assed answer. It earned Baekhyun a painful pinch to the ear by Minseok, which did little to alleviate the embarrassment Jongdae felt.

 

“Is he always that shameless?” Jongdae had asked Minseok once the latter had chased Baekhyun away. Minseok had laughed at that and nodded.

 

If Jongdae is proud of something that happened in the three days it took them to fly across the outer ring and reach Vasenta, it’s his newfound friendship with Minseok. Unlike Baekhyun, who is all jokes and loud laughs, indiscrete questions and no confessions, Minseok is shy. He doesn’t look like it, with his big muscles and intimidating eyes, but underneath the appearances, he’s a genuine person

 

Baekhyun almost never leaves the cockpit, piloting the ship through comet storms and falling asteroids, which leaves Jongdae and Minseok with nothing to do and a lot of time to kill. So, they talk and even if Jongdae doesn’t get any of the information he’s looking for, he still gets to quench his curiosity.

 

Minseok has an interesting past. He left Salafos with Baekhyun over ten years ago and they’ve been together ever since. He still visits his family every time they’re in the B7 galaxy. He’s reserved and direct, doesn’t like to waste words and doesn’t talk if he has nothing to say. He’s serious, laughs rarely and prefers training his body over enjoying games. From what Jongdae gathered, Minseok is Baekhyun’s complete opposite and it’s almost a wonder how they even get along.

 

Either way, Jongdae shares a lot of similarities with Minseok. They often find themselves in the small training room included in every space rangers’ issued ship. It’s tiny, with customable weights and a simple shooting box. They don’t talk a lot, but someone’s presence in the gym with Jongdae heals some wounds he didn’t even know he had. It’s as if the loneliness disappears in a corner of his heart, so small he can almost not feel it.

 

Minseok is a power beast in the gym. He lifts three times his weight without breaking a sweat. He can shoot targets the size of a firefly with his non-dominant hand. Compared to him, Jongdae looks as weak as a human.

 

Even if Minseok is much more powerful than Jongdae, he doesn’t try to make Jongdae feel smaller or weaker. In fact, he takes it upon himself to help Jongdae get better. He shows him new techniques to lift weights without putting too much strain on his back muscles. In a matter of days, Jongdae already sees improvements. His aim is also a lot better, even if he’s still not used to solarguns or anything designed to really _hurt_.

 

“It might come a time when you’ll need to defend your life,” Minseok says gently while they’re taking a break. Jongdae downs an entire bottle of water. Minseok doesn’t even look like he’s sweating. Maybe it’s a Salafos thing. “You need to be able to shoot where it matters.”

 

“I’m a space ranger,” Jongdae replies with a laugh. “The worst I can face is a mean robber with a knife.”

 

Minseok shrugs and doesn’t add anything to the conversation but Jongdae can see that he has more to say. It always makes Jongdae uncomfortable, talking about danger and the possibility that he could get hurt. He thought being a ranger meant to never feel afraid, but living the life made him realize that fear is always around the corner. Conversations like this only serve to make it come back from its dark corner and into the light.

 

If the training he has done with Minseok has any purpose, it’s to bring Jongdae to a level of confidence he has never been to before. When Baekhyun irrupts in the kitchenette where Minseok and Jongdae are sharing a plate of pre-made moon pancakes (nothing like the fresh ones Jongdae ate on Fantasia) to inform them that they’re in Vasenta’s orbit, Jongdae doesn’t feel the bone-crushing terror he usually feels when presented with something new. He’s anxious, yes, and can feel the panic make his hands tremble, but he’s not frozen in fright. In fact, for the first time in a long time, Jongdae feels like he can face whatever comes his way.

 

Vasenta is the only gas giant in the H8 galaxy to have a solid enough ground for most of the species to walk on. It used to have a sun, which explains the presence of a crust at the planet’s surface, but it died down a long time ago. From what Jongdae knows of space from his space ranger’s classes, Vasenta’s survival of its sun’s death is still considered both a miracle and a mystery. Scientifics are studying the phenomenon in hopes of recreating it but the heavy blanket of gas clouds wrapping the planet up makes it difficult for their high-tech equipment to pick anything up.

 

Jongdae can see for himself how the clouds can prevent a deeper investigation of Vasenta’s secrets. The three of them, Jongdae, Baekhyun and Minseok, are in the control room, preparing for landing, Baekhyun trying to maneuver them through the clouds and closer to the ground. Trying is the key word, because he can’t see anything. Everywhere Jongdae looks, from the windows to the exterior sensors, he only sees clouds after clouds of dark grey gas.

 

“How do you even know where you’re going?” Jongdae whispers, completely mesmerized. The gas is moving, as if it’s windy outside, and it has to be one of the prettiest sights Jongdae has ever seen.

 

“Gotta be one with the ship, Jongdae,” Baekhyun laughs as he swerves right to pull away from another gust of cloudy gas. He steadily makes his way down until the sky clears and Jongdae can see Vasenta’s surface.

 

The only way Jongdae can describe the planet is that it _glows_. The surface is black but cracked with roads of a blue-green sort of material that emits a soft light. It leads the way from building to building, connecting the facilities together. They land on a large slab of it.

 

“Nox gems,” Minseok explains when Jongdae catches his eyes, question evident on his face. “They imported them when their sun started to die and rebuild all their roads with them. It’s the only source of light here.”

 

Baekhyun signals that they can leave the ship. Jongdae checks his belt to make sure his thermogun is still hanging against his thigh. He also has a pocket knife strapped to his ankle, curtesy of Minseok’s recommendation. Baekhyun fixes his autotranslator mask on his mouth and gives them two thumbs up, prompting Minseok to lead the way out of the ship.

 

“Why don’t they use more common light sources?” Jongdae asks as they reach the ground. From up close, the nox gems are even prettier, turquoise glow coming from the inside. They look like little glass balls with light in them, but make absolutely no sounds when walked on. “Like, I don’t know, fire?”

 

“Tell me, ranger, what does gas do when in contact with fire?” Baekhyun’s voice loses its raspy, manly grit when robotised by the autotranslator. Jongdae nods in understanding. It wouldn’t be a really safe option, that’s for sure.

 

The air is cold, which has to be expected when there is no sun to warm it up. Like Jongdae predicted, it is also pretty windy, the air messing up his hair. It flips the cape Minseok’s wearing around and Baekhyun doesn’t miss the opportunity to laugh at him, reminding him that he told him not to wear it.

 

“You’ll have to wrestle it down every second,” Baekhyun says, mirth audible in his voice. “You should’ve done like me and wore something tight.” He gestures down to his own body, covered in the same skin-tight catsuit he wore the first time Jongdae saw him.

 

“You do that to show off that body of yours, not because of practicality,” Minseok retorts with a scoff. Baekhyun laughs, raising his eyebrows as if to say “you would too if you had a body like mine” and Jongdae has to agree. Baekhyun is gorgeous, broad shoulders and wide hips leaving way to thick thighs.

 

They’re walking slowly on the nox gems. There’s nothing around them except darkness and plains of nothingness. In the distance, Jongdae can make out some buildings, illuminated with small beads of light he can’t recognize. They shine bright red in the dark.

 

“What’s the plan now that we’re here?” Jongdae asks to break the suffocating silence surrounding them. It’s like they’re all alone on the planet, no sound coming to them at all. Even the wind, yet violent, doesn’t make a sound. It makes Jongdae uneasy.

 

“We find techs to fix your ship and, while we wait for that, go see a friend and get a new ship for ourselves,” Baekhyun answers without looking back at Jongdae. “Then we all go our own way.”

 

It seems like an infallible plan, except for the fact that Jongdae doesn’t really want to meet their so-called friend. For all Jongdae knows, they’re probably dealing with things as illegal as Baekhyun and Minseok, if not more, and Jongdae would appreciate keeping his connections with the underground activities to the minimum. When he shares his concerns, he only gets a laugh in response.

 

“You’re not wrong,” Minseok says with a small smile of empathy. “And that’s why you should stay with us. People aren’t kind in these parts of the galaxy.”

 

 Minseok’s words make Jongdae shiver. Vasenta has given him a dangerous vibe since they landed. If he learned anything from being a space ranger, it’s that the most beautiful locations are the most poisonous and even if he doesn’t fully trust Minseok and Baekhyun, they do look like they could do some damage if provoked. Jongdae nods to show he understands the risks and accepts to stay with them.

 

After a couple of minutes of walking, they reach a hill big enough to cover their view of the horizon. The nox gems form a small path akin to a stairway, making the ascension easier. It doesn’t mean that Jongdae isn’t panting hard when they finally reach the top. He ignores Baekhyun’s jabs at his fitness level which is “pretty low for a ranger,” concentrating on placing foot after foot on the small steps. However, the view offered to Jongdae’s eyes at the end of the stairway is worth the struggle.  

 

As the rest of the planet, the city beyond the hill is surrounded with darkness. The roads are still illuminated with nox gems, crisscrossing around squares and buildings in an intricate pattern. The buildings look to be made with a sort of metallic material akin to the lightweight aluminium used to build spaceships. They’re covered in small red dots of shining light, not too bright to compete with the glow of the roads, but powerful enough to cast a soft hue on the buildings’ walls. Jongdae can easily count at least fifty different buildings in a single glance, but he can’t see anyone, as if the city is one of ghosts.

 

The people come in sight only when they reach the actual borders of the city. Close like this, Jongdae can see that the red lights are actually small fireflies encapsulated in little glass jars. They look famished, their glow barely strong enough to cast a small shadow around them. Jongdae can’t keep his eyes away from the grim sight, which leads him to collide straight on with someone coming from the other direction. The impact is strong, sending Jongdae reeling and, if it weren’t for Minseok’s quick reflexes, he would’ve fallen on the ground.

 

The sound of a blade being pulled from its sheath stops the apology on Jongdae’s lips. He sees a flash of silver coming right for his throat and jumps back to avoid the hit. The air shifts when the blade misses him by a millimeter. Before Jongdae has time to react to the danger even more, a metal rope wraps itself around his assailant’s wrist and pulls. The sickening sound of a bone breaking reaches Jongdae’s ears, just before an ear-splitting scream. Jongdae’s attacker falls to his knees, blade now positioned against his neck. Her face is covered by a dark cowl, hiding all her features except her three piercing eyes, glowing red and purple.

 

“Apologize,” Baekhyun murmurs, pressing the blade of his knife a little harder against her skin, tearing the material of her cowl. Jongdae watches as her eyes harden. She raises her head in defiance. Subtly, she slides her left hand behind her back, possibly reaching for a weapon but, before Jongdae can even warn Baehkyun about it, the latter slits her throat. Purple blood splatter on the nox gems in front of them as Baekhyun lets her body fall on the floor.

 

“Be careful, ranger,” Baekhyun says as he pockets his knife back in a hidden pocket of his catsuit. “This is no Fantasia.”

 

Jongdae swallows and nods, even if Baekhyun can’t see him since he already turned around and continued walking. They resume their trek through the city, Jongdae now hyper-aware of his surroundings. He makes it a point of honor to walk directly in Baekhyun’s foot traces, just to make sure he doesn’t run into anyone ever again.

 

“She wouldn’t have hesitated to kill me,” Jongdae says under his breath as realization hits him. He could’ve died, slayed by someone because he wasn’t looking where he was going. Isn’t that a bit harsh?

 

“Let’s just say people here have short tempers,” Minseok says from behind him. He clasps Jongdae on the shoulder in seeming comfort. It seems like a euphemism to Jongdae.

 

The closer they get to the center of the city, the more people there is and the more anxious Jongdae gets. The beauty of the city is rapidly fading from Jongdae’s mind. Minseok and Baekhyun were right when they warned him about the illegality and dangerousness of Vasenta. Everybody Jongdae sees is heavily armed, some with solar guns like Minseok, some with knives and swords and some with other weapons Jongdae has never seen before. They’re all dressed in shades of grey and black, with heavy hoods on their heads or big masks to hide their identity. They huddle in small groups in front of buildings, talking and exchanging packets with secrecy. Some fights break, gunshots and grunts heard here and there. It’s shady at best and scary at worst and Jongdae really can’t wait to get out of here.

 

They have been following the nox gems’ roads since their arrival in the city which is why it comes as a surprise when Baekhyun steers them away from the main road to take a dark and sinuous path between two run-down buildings. Jongdae’s nerves pick up, making his hands tremble. He reaches for his thermogun, unhooking it from his belt to hold it in his hands, the familiar weight a reassurance. They stop in front of a door sandwiched between two containers. The odor is pungent, reminiscent of death and bones.

 

“Where the hell are we?” Jongdae mutters as he pushes his scarf up his face to try to make the air more breathable. The door opens from the inside seemingly on its own and Baekhyun doesn’t hesitate before he enters the building, forcing Jongdae to follow.

 

“At the best spacecraft technician of the galaxy, of course,” Baekhyun exclaims, smile evident in his voice. It attracts the attention of a couple of people in the room. They look up from the table they’ve been working on and, when they notice who’s interrupting them, they smile.

 

“Baekhyunnie!” a clear voice reverberates in the warehouse. A man stands up from the table, coming towards the three of them with a smile on his face. He looks definitely human, with white hair reaching his shoulders in soft waves, except his skin is glowing. When he gets closer, Jongdae notices that it isn’t actually his skin but more his veins that shine pink. It makes them visible, as if his skin was nothing but glass. It’s kind of unsettling, in a weird, mesmerizing, way. “What brings you back here so soon?”

 

“Little problems,” Minseok answers with a polite smile. He stands beside Jongdae and subtly takes his thermogun out of his hands to clip it back to his belt. Jongdae looks at him, offended that he dares taking his weapon, but Minseok shushes his worries with a shake of head.

 

Their exchange has been short, but it still took enough time for Baekhyun to make himself cozy in the warehouse. He has an arm wrapped around the technician’s shoulders and is whispering in his ear, charming lit on his eyebrows.

 

“I’m sure you’ll be able to fix it, Yixing” Baekhyun is saying. The technician, Yixing, chuckles and reaches up to ruffle Baekhyun’s hair.

 

“Of course, Baekhyunnie,” Yixing says reassuringly. “Ranger ships are pretty basic. It’ll be done in a couple of hours.”

 

Baekhyun beams at him, eyes turning into crescents. Jongdae is flabbergasted by the change in his demeanor. Where has the harsh and dangerous man gone? The only thing Jongdae can see now is a ball of fluff and sunshine.

 

“Yixing and Baekhyun go way back,” Minseok murmurs into Jongdae’s ears, seemingly to explain Baekhyun’s behavior. “Your ship is in good hands.”

 

Jongdae nods. He’s aware neither Baekhyun nor Minseok owe him explanations, but he would really appreciate to have a little bit more information sometimes. Anyway, it isn’t really his problem anymore. According to this Yixing person, his ship will be good to go in a matter of hours and he’ll finally be free to go back to his life as a space ranger. He really cannot wait.

 

Contrary to what Jongdae believed, they don’t linger in Yixing’s warehouse. After giving the coordinates of the ship to Yixing, they go back to the main road. Visibly, the situation didn’t improve while they were away, if the fights breaking left and right are any indications. Jongdae has to duck down to dodge stray bullets and run for cover when the man walking beside him is fatally shot out of nowhere.

 

“Stars, this planet is insane,” Jongdae swears as he catches his breath. The three of them are hiding in between two aluminum buildings, guns out, ready to fight for their lives. It’s kind of unbelievable to Jongdae how people can fight like this, hours upon hours without a break.

 

Baekhyun laughs at Jongdae’s words while Minseok nods to show his agreement. “This planet, as you have probably gathered by now, is home to the outcasts, the outlaws. It hosts illegal businesses from all parts of the galaxies.”

 

“Yeah, that, I got,” Jongdae says as he eyes the building in front of them. Women in lingerie and negligees are luring passersby inside their brothel. A man in a black cloak grabs one of them rather violently, pushing her in an alley. Soon enough, moans and screams are heard and Jongdae turns away, cheeks flushed.

 

The sounds of fight are getting distant now and Minseok deems it safe enough for them to go back out. They hurry down the turquoise path. Minseok urges them not to run as to avoid attracting attention, but Baekhyun still sets a quick pace which pushes Jongdae to jog.

 

They get in the deepest part of the city, where the buildings aren’t enlightened up with red lights. Here, the atmosphere gets even scarier and heavier, something Jongdae truly didn’t believe possible. Stalls full of weapons leave way to cages and collars. Jongdae shudders: slave trainers. Minseok, as if sensing his discomfort, takes him by the shoulders and guides him forward.

 

“Don’t look,” he says so low that Jongdae has to lean in to understand. He tucks his head between his shoulders and looks down towards Baekhyun’s feet in front of him. He only looks up when Baekhyun stops in front an imposing building. It still has the same industrial feel as every other building on Vasenta, but is twice as big. The double doors are guarded by two heavily armed men, face covered by gas masks.

 

“Gentlemen, if you would be so kind to announce us to the lord,” Baekhyun says charmingly at the tallest guard.

 

“Go fuck yourself, Byun,” the guard retorts, voice rough. It has the scratchy quality characteristic of a tongue prosthetic. “The lord is a busy man. You can’t just come in and expect him to receive you just because you asked.”

 

“Well, you see, we’re sort of on a short schedule here and would really appreciate your collaboration.” Baekhyun smiles, all mellow in a way that betrays how dangerous he is. He’s purposely soft and Jongdae recognized what he’s trying to do but doesn’t see how it could work. The guards are three times taller than him, than them, and more armed too. They don’t stand a single chance if they decide to fight.

 

“You little shit,” the other guard says under his breath, reaching down for his gun. Jongdae closes his eyes and whispers a smaller prayer to the stars of Salafos to save his soul. Before the guard can pull his weapon out, though, the doors open from the inside and a girl pokes her head out.

 

“You may come in,” she says, voice bewitching, and if her absence of eyes weren’t a dead giveaway of her specie, the voice would’ve done the trick. She’s a siren from Serena. Jongdae didn’t know they could leave their watery planet and survive. “The lord will receive you.”

 

Minseok motions for Jongdae to follow him inside the building. Baekhyun winks to the guards as they pass by them and Jongdae shivers at the groans falling from their mouth. The inside of the building is pretty bare. There are tables here and there, covered in papers and maps. There is also a chair in the centre to the room, like a makeshift throne. On it sits a man almost too pretty to be living on Vasenta. His hair doesn’t have a precise color. It seems alive, hues of reds, blues, greens and pinks shifting perpetually. His features are soft, small mouth, small nose and thick eyebrows. He looks like a kid playing grown-ups.

 

“Lord Sehun, long time no see,” Baekhyun exclaims grandly, bending in an exaggerate bow. Minseok whacks him behind the head when he straightens up, making him whine.

 

“Still haven’t learned manners, Byun,” Sehun says with disdain. He scrunches his nose but still manages to look ethereally good. Jongdae is equally as jealous as attracted. “I must say I wasn’t expecting you so soon. It’s been what, two moon cycles?”

 

“Precisely,” Minseok confirms. He pulls Baekhyun from the back of his catsuit, giving him a pointed look. Baekhyun grimaces but falls back in the shadow, smiling at Jongdae as he takes place beside him. “We won’t take much of your time, Lord Sehun. In fact, we only need to retrieve the ship you took from us.”

 

“You mean the beautiful Serenian spacecraft I won from you,” Sehun corrects and Minseok nods. Jongdae makes sure to listen carefully to what they’re saying, hoping to gather more information on his temporary companions. “And what do you offer in exchange? You don’t think I’ll give it back to you for free, no?”

 

Baekhyun rolls his eyes but bites his tongue and remains silent. It makes Jongdae chuckle under his breath, amused at the visible difficulty he’s having at staying still and quiet.

 

“We don’t have a lot of things to offer, Lord Sehun,” Minseok says. “You see, we’re having some… difficulties and…”

 

“So I’ve heard,” Sehun muses. His eyes travel from Minseok to Baekhyun and gaze over Jongdae. They stop in wonder; clearly he hasn’t been expecting someone else with them. He smirks but doesn’t say anything and Jongdae heaves a relieved sigh. He doesn’t know why the prospect of Sehun addressing him stresses him as much. Maybe it comes from the fact that if Baekhyun is a snake in disguise, then Sehun must be a viper.

 

“You stirred up a whole lot of hell,” Sehun continues, same condescending smile on his lips. “Kim Joonmyun is a powerful man and he seemed particularly displeased by the robbery of his precious ship.”

 

Jongdae turns sharply towards Baekhyun, who only shrugs at his surprised expression. Kim Joonmyun is notorious all over the galaxies. He’s a rich philanthropist, akin to royalty on his home planet Serena. Some rumors say he has built his empire on illegal practices, but no one has been able to prove it; and Jongdae knows they did try. Stealing from Kim Joonmyun is suicidal and Jongdae can barely believe Baekhyun and Minseok have been dumb enough to even try, let alone actually do it.

 

“Yes, well, we’re trying to make amend,” Baekhyun says, ignoring Minseok’s warning glance. At the sound of Baekhyun’s voice, Sehun frowns, clearly annoyed and Jongdae can easily understand why. Baekhyun has the talent to get under your skin and make you want to rip his tongue out so he won’t be able to taunt you anymore. While it remains harmless in most cases, in the warehouse of a serious drug lord or whatever Sehun is, this habit of his becomes quite dangerous. Jongdae isn’t ready to die and it seems like Minseok isn’t either.

 

“By giving him back the ship you stole,” Sehun finishes with a small chuckle. “I’ll ask again, then. What do you offer me in exchange?”

 

Silence falls on the assembly as Minseok and Baekhyun exchange a look. They clearly haven’t thought about anything worth sharing with Sehun and Jongdae can’t hold back the snort falling from his mouth. Who comes to someone like Sehun with no leverage what so ever? Are they completely out of their minds?

 

For some time, it’s a game of back and forth between Minseok, clearly the spokesperson of their little group, and Sehun about the modalities of the exchange. It becomes clear pretty quickly that the latter is greedy and ruthless, not used to backing down before he gets what he’s looking for. The offers start low, with some spacecraft materials, to bigger stakes. Jongdae tries to follow as best as he can but they quickly lose him when they start talking over each other in a rapid pace. He only comes back to the reality when Baekhyun grabs his arm to trust him forward

 

“You know that old Jung will pay up for one of his rangers,” Baekhyun is saying. He shakes Jongdae’s arm for good insistence, attracting Sehun’s attention to him. Jongdae blushes and tries to get back behind Baekhyun but the latter stops him. “You’ll make good money asking for a ransom.”

 

“Isn’t that so?” Sehun muses, still staring at Jongdae in a way that’s starting to become really uncomfortable. Jongdae’s eyes travel from Sehun to Baekhyun to Minseok who waits, attentive, for a sign that their latest deal has been accepted. It’s only then that the components of the deal dawn on him.

 

“What the fuck?” Jongdae wonders out loud, incredulous. For some reasons, his confusion and indignation is really funny to Sehun because he starts laughing loudly. Jongdae tries to shrug Baekhyun’s hand off of his arm, but Baekhyun tightens his grip to the point of hurting.

 

“It is an interesting deal,” Sehun finally says. Jongdae can feel Baekhyun relax behind him, which only triggers the opposite reaction in him. He tenses up, trying to remember Minseok’s teaching. He’ll have to fight for his life if they go through with this stupid deal and literally sell him up to a drug lord. “But I won’t be able to accept it, for one simple reason. I don’t have Joonmyun’s ship anymore.”

 

“You don’t have Joonmyun’s ship anymore,” Minseok repeats, a faraway look in his eyes. “What the fuck do you mean, you don’t have it? We’ve been talking about it for hours!”

 

“I was curious as to how far you would go to have it back,” Sehun says like it’s the most obvious thing in the world. Jongdae hears Baekhyun groan behind him and there’s suddenly sharp nails digging in the soft skin of his arm. Jongdae winces at the pain. “But yes, I don’t have it anymore. Sold it to a Krylos, can’t remember his name though…”

 

“We’re getting out of here,” Baekhyun grits between his teeth. He pulls Jongdae with him harshly, footsteps echoing loudly in the warehouse. Jongdae does his best to match his pace, not wanting to stumble and fall. He vaguely hears Minseok bid goodbye to Sehun and then they’re on the sidewalk outside of the warehouse.

 

“God, I fucking hate this man,” Baekhyun says as soon as they’re outside, kicking a stray can of food lying on the road. “Thinks he’s the biggest shit in the universe when he barely leaves his fucking warehouse. Fucking coward.”

 

The anger is radiating off of him in waves and Jongdae is a little bit scared. Mostly, however, he’s angry himself. They wanted to sell him off for a ship. They were ready to doom him to a life of misery, when they are the reason he’s in this mess to begin with. Jongdae really can’t believe it. He shrugs Baekhyun’s hand off his arm, turning on his heels to face them.

 

“Are you even serious?” Jongdae seethes and he doesn’t need to add anything. Minseok’s face morphs in an expression of guilt and regret while Baekhyun has the decency to look a bit sheepish. Minseok opens his mouth, probably to spit out some lie about how they could’ve gotten Jongdae out of there after the deal was done but Jongdae is done being stupid and clueless. He’s done trusting them when they obviously don’t care about him.

 

“Where are you going?” Minseok hollers at Jongdae when he spins on his heels and walks away from them.

 

“I’m going home,” Jongdae says, letting his anger seep into his words. “So you do you and I do I and we never see each other again, understood?”

 

Jongdae doesn’t wait for an answer before he speed walks away. For a moment, he’s afraid Minseok and Baekhyun will try to follow him and prevent him from leaving but no footsteps are heard. He reaches the main road with ease and, from there, can map out in his mind the path he needs to take to go back to the technician’s warehouse. Being a ranger taught Jongdae to pay attention to his surroundings and remember the small details. Often enough, it’s those details that make a difference between dying and seeing another day.

 

Still reeling from the anger and betrayal he’s feeling, Jongdae makes it back to the warehouse in a matter of minutes. It’s still exactly as it was when they came not too long ago: dusty and empty. However, it is uncharacteristically quiet. When Jongdae enters the warehouse, he sees no one. The warehouse is completely deserted. Jongdae shrugs and figures that they must still be working on his ship outside of the city. He decides to meet them there. The faster he can get his ship working, the faster he can leave all of this behind and forget it ever happened.

 

Jongdae hasn’t made three steps outside the warehouse when he feels a presence behind him. He tenses up, resisting the urge to turn around and look. He starts walking toward the main street in hopes of losing whoever is following him in the crowd. Turns out that it’s a bad idea when he spots, from all corners of his vision, people dressed in black making their way to him. Jongdae recognizes the fabric wrapped across their head and swears. They’re the same guys who tried to kill him back on Fantasia and, visibly, they didn’t give up their plan yet. Jongdae contemplates keeping his pace slow and praying they won’t attack him in the middle of the street like this. Then, he remembers how people on Vasenta don’t hesitate a second to fight and decides to follow their custom. He runs.

 

As soon as Jongdae starts running, bullets start raining on him. He hurries down the road, feet hitting the nox gems with strength without making a sound. He reaches for his thermogun, unclips it from his waist and starts blindly firing behind him. Jongdae doesn’t really know if he hit anybody but he doesn’t care. If anything, he only wants to make more space between him and his pursuers. His run has the benefit of creating a commotion among the people in the street, which allows him to turn in a side road unnoticeably.

 

Jongdae lets himself fall back against the wall of a rundown warehouse. The red lights on its wall cast an eerie glow on the buildings around him, making everything look even more dangerous. He clutches his thermogun more tightly, silently wishing he listened to Minseok this morning and accepted the more deadly solargun he had been offered. Jongdae really didn’t expect to be fighting for his life like this, especially not alone. Well, he didn’t expect to be almost auctioned off by his companions neither. Clearly, nothing is going as he anticipated so maybe he should just go with the flow.

 

A terrible metal-scrapping sound pulls Jongdae out of his thoughts just in time for him to duck down. A blast of solar energy hits the wall where his head had been just seconds prior and Jongdae curses under his breath. He doesn’t waste a single second and starts running again, ducking behind containers and stalls at every moment to dodge solar beams aimed at him. He hears screams and swears coming from his pursuers every time they miss, voices getting closer and closer. Jongdae tries to push his legs to run faster but he’s running out of gas, not used to long period of intense activity like this. By now, he’s only fueled by adrenaline and pure, pure fear for his life.

 

Jongdae rounds up a corner, ducking quickly behind a dumpster to protect himself from another wave of solar energy. He takes a deep breath, readying himself for another run when a warm hand covers his mouth and nose from behind. Jongdae trashes around, trying to free himself from the hold. He elbows his attacker in the stomach. The hand falls from his mouth and Jongdae uses his momentum to spin around, thermogun raised. His finger is on the trigger but he stops himself when he realizes it’s Minseok in front of him.

 

“What are you…” Jongdae starts to ask before Minseok raised a finger to his lips to indicate to stay silent.

 

“We’ll talk later,” Minseok says in a low voice. “For now, let’s get out of here.” And Jongdae, even if he’s still mad at him and, in all honesty, doesn’t have an ounce of trust in him, agrees. This isn’t the time for conversations and reckoning.

 

They start running then, going back on the road. As soon as they do, blasts of solar energy hit all around them, from their feet to the walls surrounding them. Jongdae tries not to flinch at every impact but they’re getting closer and closer and he’s terrified. Minseok keeps looking behind him, firing solar beams of his own, but they don’t seem to hit anything. Jongdae is less and less sure they’ll be able to make it out of there alive.

 

That’s why it comes as a relief when Jongdae spots the hill overlooking the city. He knows that behind it waits his (hopefully fixed and ready-to-go) ship. If they can make it to the top of that hill, then both him and Minseok will be fine. The only problem is that to reach and climb that hill, they’ll have to sacrifice the cover the buildings are giving them. It’s a completely open field, with nothing to protect them from the solar waves their pursuers have been firing at them since the beginning of this chase. Clearly, Minseok has been thinking the same thing because he grabs Jongdae’s arm and pulls him out of the way in an abandoned warehouse.

 

“When I’ll tell you to, you run up the hill straight to the ship, okay?” Minseok tells him, checking the munition bar of his solargun. He curses, throwing open the small bag strapped on his thigh and recharges. “Baekhyun is waiting for you in the ship.”

 

“What about you?” Jongdae asks, worried. He might not trust Baekhyun right now, but Minseok has shown nothing but kindness to him since he embarked in this crazy journey. If anything, he doesn’t believe Minseok would’ve actively wanted to bring him any harm, even in the whole lets-exchange-Jongdae-for-a-ship fiasco.

 

“I’m going to create a diversion,” Minseok says, voice hard and determined. “They’re not really after you, per se. They’re after Baekhyun and I and since they saw you with us, they think you’re our ally. They won’t go after you if they have the possibility to get me.”

 

Jongdae wants to protest. It’s dangerous, potentially suicidal, even if Minseok looks like he knows what he’s doing. He wants to tell him that there must be another, safer, way to go about this situation but they don’t have time. The door of the warehouse explodes, not without reminiscing Jongdae of the break-in in his apartment, and Minseok screams at Jongdae to run. He doesn’t need to be told twice. He darts outside and makes a bee-line to the hill, leaving behind shouts and the smell of burning skin.

 

Jongdae, in his haste to get away from the fight, falls a couple of time in his ascension, scrapping his knees raw on the dirt. He gets up every time, wincing at the pain but pushing through it. He needs to get to the ship fast in hopes of rescuing Minseok before it’s too late. He doesn’t really understand where that desire to save Minseok comes from, especially after everything that happened during the day, but he doesn’t have time to question it. His only goal now is to make it out of this crazy planet alive, preferably with the two collectors in tow. Afterwards, Jongdae will have time to question what the hell he’s feeling in the moment.

 

When Jongdae barges in the control room, covered in dirt and blood, he finds Baekhyun already pushing in commands on the dashboard.

 

“Buckle up,” Baekhyun screams at him, one hand on the manual steering wheel and one hand on the trigger. Every ranger-issued ship has two laserguns embezzled in the cabin. Jongdae does as he’s told, taking place in co-pilot seat. He reaches for the second trigger when it’s clear Baekhyun doesn’t have enough hands to control it.

 

Baekhyun pulls the steering wheel up and the ship jumpstarts into action. They’re going fast, not quite at light speed yet, but close enough for Jongdae to fear they’ll crash into a building before they can even make it to the city. Baekhyun, however, doesn’t seem fazed by the velocity, swinging the wheel left and right to avoid the obstacles.

 

“Shoot, for Christ’s sake,” Baekhyun roars as he swerves right. The solar beam passes right by them and it kickstarts Jongdae into action. He shoots, not taking the time to aim properly before letting lasers after lasers go. He hits everything and anything but doesn’t take the time to assess the damages. From the corner of his eyes, Jongdae tries to spot Minseok on the radar but he sees nothing.

 

“He didn’t activate his chip,” Baekhyun curses. He punches the dashboard with force, switching the radar from a chip-activated one to a heat-detector one. Jongdae has half a mind to tell him not to be too rough with his ship but Baekhyun is positively seething and Jongdae doesn’t want to add another layer to his frustration.

 

Soon enough, a little blue spec appears on the radar amongst all the red circles. Jongdae knows it has to be Minseok since he’s the only Salafos they’ve crossed path with on Vasenta and no other specie has body temperature low enough to be picked up like this by a heat detector. Baekhyun also notices it because he hands the second trigger to Jongdae and, with both hands on the wheel, steers the ship towards it.

 

Minseok is circled by a group of black mercenaries when they fly past him. He’s still fighting valiantly, no trace of blood or injury visible on his skin. But Jongdae knows they’re far enough for potential wounds to be concealed. Jongdae shoots laser beams, taking great care now to not accidently hit Minseok. He needs to give Baekhyun enough room to, if not land, at least come close enough to the surface of the planet for Minseok to be able to climb on.

 

They stay like that for a couple of minute, exchanging hit after hit without anyone being able to make any kind of progress. Jongdae decides then to take matters in his own hands. He stops firing at the mercenaries, trusting that Minseok is able to keep them at bay for a minute. Instead, Jongdae shoots at the buildings surrounding them. He tears them down one by one until Baekhyun lowers the ship down. Minseok doesn’t wait a second and, with the cover provided by Jongdae’s unceasing barrage of lasers, manages to reach the ship in one piece. Baekhyun pulls them away from the fight in a hurry, reaching light speed before they’re even out of Vasenta’s orbit. Jongdae takes a deep breath, but doesn’t have time to relax before Baekhyun is thrusting the steering wheel in his hands and running out of the cockpit, possibly to see if Minseok is okay. Jongdae is tired, mind still juggling with all the events of the day. The adrenaline is going down now and Jongdae barely manages to keep his eyes open. He wants to stay awake to confront Baekhyun about his almost auction, but he’s fighting a losing battle. Jongdae, in the end, sets the autopilot on before falling asleep in the co-pilot seat.

 

 

 

 

 

Jongdae wakes up to a dull pain in his neck and back, coming from falling asleep in a sitting position. He takes an extra moment to stretch as much as possible in the cramp space of the cockpit, trying to wake his muscles enough for them to stop hurting. The ship’s course is still set to absolutely nowhere, which might be the safest route to take. Jongdae doesn’t know where they’re supposed to go now that it’s clear the stolen spaceship isn’t on Vasenta and with the attempts on his life, he isn’t sure going back to Fantasia is even an option. Better sail through the universe for now.

 

There’s no sound coming from anywhere in the ship. It’s almost as if Jongdae is back to being a lonely ranger roaming the universe with no other company than his trusty ship and the so-often calls from Yunho. In the back of his mind, Jongdae knows it’s impossible. They’ve been flying for hours now, ever since they picked Minseok up from the city. The two collectors aren’t keen on dying and jumping out would mean instant death.

 

Jongdae finds them cuddled up in bed in one of the stockrooms. From what he can see of their intertwined bodies, Minseok doesn’t seem to be severely injured. With his head resting on Baekhyun’s shoulder and his leg jammed in between Baekhyun’s, he’s sleeping. Baekhyun isn’t, though, and quickly notices Jongdae lingering in the doorway. He puts his finger to his lips to indicate to stay silent and Jongdae nods, deciding to let them be. He can’t get rid of the impression that he just noticed a personal and intimate moment, one he shouldn’t have seen.

 

Express moon pancakes are a lightyear away from the fresh, hot and crispy ones Jongdae used to eat back on Fantasia. Still, it fills his stomach and calms the hunger that has been bothering him since before he fell asleep. What it doesn’t fill is the confusion in his head. Thoughts are running in circle in his mind since he woke up, thoughts of murder and attackers and dangers, thoughts of betrayal and trust and loneliness. Now that the dust has fallen down and that Jongdae can take the time to analyze what happened, like prescribed in every ranger books he’s ever read, he finds himself unable to do so. In fact, just thinking about the situation makes Jongdae exhausted.

 

He’s still sitting on the same stool, plate now cleaned in front of him but cup still full of tea, when Minseok walks into the kitchen. He’s limping, left leg dragging a little bit behind him as he makes his way to the fridge to grab a cold pressed drink. There’s also a bandage on his right shoulder, made visible by the fact that Minseok isn’t wearing a shirt. The amount of skin is a little bit distracting to Jongdae, who can’t help but let his eyes roam, taking in every muscle shift. When Minseok sits down in front of him, though, Jongdae can see the tiredness in his traits and the seriousness in his eyes and it brings him back to the subject at hand.

 

“I’m sorry,” Minseok says before Jongdae can even open his mouth. He looks defeated, like he’s been hit with the worst news and doesn’t know what to do with it. Jongdae wants to hug him, reassure him that everything will be alright, but he doesn’t know that. He knows absolutely nothing about what’s going to happen now. And, to be quite honest, he’s not totally sure Baekhyun would be all up for that kind of skinship.

 

“This visit to Vasenta went nothing like I expected it to,” Minseok continues. “I just want to assure you that I never wanted to sell you out like that. The situation just got out of control and Baekhyun…”

 

“Doesn’t like me very much,” Jongdae completes with a sigh because it’s obvious. Baekhyun has done no effort to try to get to know him or make him comfortable in this crazy situation they’ve put him in. Yesterday was only the nail in the coffin.

 

“It’s not that Baekhyun doesn’t like you. Please, don’t take it personal,” Minseok pleads. He reaches across the table to grab Jongdae’s hand. His fingers are warm and calloused, his grip is firm and something in it really anchors Jongdae into reality. “Baekhyun has had it rough, rougher than anything you can imagine, Jongdae. It makes him desperate to never go back to that place. He panicked, back there.”

 

Jongdae wants to say that it didn’t look like that at all. In fact, Baekhyun looked completely in control of everything: the situation, his words, his actions. He knew what he was doing, had it planned out since the beginning. He wants to protest and make his voice heard, but Minseok’s expression stops him. For the first time since he barged in Jongdae’s apartment, Minseok’s face is an open book and Jongdae can read the sincerity and pain only one who’s telling the truth can feel.

 

“My intention has always been to get you back to the rangers’ headquarters,” Minseok says like he wants Jongdae to believe him and it works. Kind of. Jongdae isn’t one-hundred percent sure he believes it yet but if this continues, he might. “It’s our fault you’ve been brought into this mess and I want to get you out of it. And I know Baekhyun sees the situation in the same light as I do.”

 

“He certainly has a funny way of showing it,” Jongdae mutters. The comment makes Minseok chuckle and the tense atmosphere dissipates into something lighter.

 

“He does, that’s for sure,” Minseok agrees with a small smile. He pats Jongdae’s hand before letting it rest on the table. “But please, don’t let what happened yesterday define Baekhyun in your mind. Especially since it seems we’ll be together for a while…”

 

Jongdae accepts the change of direction in the conversation with open arms. “Talking about that, what are we going to do now? I set the autopilot to roam around without approaching any orbits but we kind of need a plan. I mean, I guess I’m not going back home.”

 

Minseok shakes his head. “Baekhyun and I talked about it yesterday.” A vision of them curled up in bed together flashes through Jongdae’s mind and he bites his lips. This is not the time to satisfy his curiosity. “We think we know who’s the Krylos Sehun has mentioned so we’ll pay him a visit, see if he has any lead for us.”

 

Jongdae has to agree that it’s a good idea. The worst that can happen is that the Krylos Minseok is talking about isn’t the one Sehun sold the ship to. It would only bring them back to the starting point. Either way, it would keep them busy for a while and put as much distance as possible between them and the mercenaries at their pursuit.

 

“As for your presence with us,” Minseok continues with an apologetic smile, “I don’t think it would be wise for you to leave us. You’ve clearly been targeted and, if we stick together, we’ll be able to protect you.”

 

Jongdae had expected it, because it’s the most logical decision to make. Going to the rangers’ headquarters right now would be reckless, since it would only lead the mercenaries to them and give away his identity. The last thing Jongdae wants to do is to put the rest of the rangers in danger. Oddly enough, the possibility of not going back home yet doesn’t bother him too much. For the first time in his life, Jongdae is excited for what’s to come and that, even if when action really does occur, he gets scared shitless whenever action occurs.

 

Minseok is an added bonus, of course.

 

“Where are we going, then?” Jongdae asks. Minseok’s face lightens up at the tone of Jongdae’s voice and Jongdae thinks he has never seen anything more beautiful. He’s so fucked.

 

“Cap for Kalsatos!”

 

 

 

 

 

Jongdae is starting to realize that, despite his original conception, he doesn’t really know the universe. He naively thought that he had figured it all out, from the classes he took back at the rangers’ facility and from his small tours around the A3 galaxy. While it’s true that he has seen most if not all the species of the universe, Jongdae knows basically nothing about their planets or their ways of life. That’s why he kind of freaks out when Baekhyun announces that they reached Kalsatos only to look out the window and see a giant sun.

 

“Are you sure we’re there?” Jongdae asks warily. For some pretty logical and understandable reasons, landing on a giant ball of fire and lava isn’t that appealing to him. Minseok nods to confirm and Jongdae gulps audibly. “How the hell am I supposed to survive on a freaking sun?”

 

“With this,” Baekhyun says, throwing a heavy cloak on his head. Jongdae splutters and struggles to free himself from it. He grabs it with two hands and holds it at arm’s length to have a better look. It looks like any normal cloak, dark with a large hood, but it’s made in a thick material akin to leather.

 

“You’re Judean so you’ll be able to handle the heat,” Minseok explains as he urges Jongdae to put the cape on. Jongdae does, unconvinced that a simple cloak will be enough to protect him. “This is only an added protection for your skin and hair.”

 

Jongdae shrugs, trying to appear confident and nonchalant, even if he’s secretly terrified. He however feels a little better when he sees Minseok don the same type of cloak. It’s only when Baekhyun, dressed from head to toe in a bodysuit of the same material, head covered with an expensive-looking helmet, emerges from the cockpit that he’s totally reassured. The visor is black, to protect Baekhyun’s eyes from the UV rays. He’s also wearing gloves so that no part of him is exposed to the outside air.

 

“Don’t laugh,” Baekhyun snaps at Minseok, who is poorly stifling a laugh behind his palms. “It’s already a fucking pain in the ass, no need to add to it.”

 

“Humans are particularly vulnerable to high temperatures,” Minseok turns to Jongdae, gesturing to Baekhyun’s get-up. Baekhyun’s face isn’t visible but Jongdae can imagine the scowl he’s sporting underneath the helmet. It puts a smile on Jongdae’s face and eases his worry.

 

Of course, because Jongdae is a ball of anxiety most of the time, it comes back in tenfold when they actually land on Kalsatos. To Jongdae’s complete surprise, Krylos managed to build buildings and roads suspended over the lava crust of the star. Every construction is made of pure silver and they reflect the light of the fire around them, making everything brighter than they actually are. For a second, Jongdae can’t see anything, dazzled by the amount of light. It’s only until Minseok hands him a pair of sunglasses that his vision comes back enough for him to make out details.

 

Kalsatos is the exact opposite of Vasenta. Where Vasenta was dark and mysterious, Kalsatos is bright and out-there. There is no alleyway, no secret path. Even the people are completely different. As they’re walking along the metallic roads, slowly making their way to the center of the city where they’ll find the Krylos they’re looking for, people are smiling and talking loudly. Children are running in the streets with no care in the world, playing tag and hide-and-seek around the adults. People are carrying baskets of products to the central market, where musicians are keeping the atmosphere light and festive.

 

Jongdae feels at ease here. Everything is lively and, if it wasn’t so damn hot, he would probably say it is his favorite place in the universe. The Krylos are kind and welcoming, even if their physique is scary, with their scales a burning red and the two sets of horns on their head. But the temperature is a real issue. They haven’t been on Kasaltos for more than fifteen minutes and Jongdae’s shirt is already sticking to his back. Baekhyun also seems to struggle, dragging his feet behind Minseok and Jongdae. It’s so far from Baekhyun’s usual demeanor that it makes Jongdae oddly satisfied.

 

“Are we there yet? I need something to drink,” Baekhyun whines. His voice attracts the attention of a Krylos passing besides their little party and he stops to look at them closely.

 

“Isn’t that Kim Minseok?” The Krylos says, voice booming so loudly Jongdae flinches. He looks like every other Krylos Jongdae has ever seen: naked from the waist up, with beads and jewels embed in his fiery dreads. “And in here,” he continues, tapping on Baekhyun’s helmet with his large palm, “must be our little Baekhyunnie.”

 

Baekhyun groans and pushes the hand away. “Chanyeol, fuck, we’ve been looking for you for hours!” The Krylos, Chanyeol, laughs and slaps Baekhyun on the shoulder, sending him flying straight into Jongdae with the force of the contact.

 

“Nonsense! You arrived barely thirty minutes ago,” Chanyeol says. He finally seems to notice that there is someone else other than the two collectors. With a wide and curious expression on his face, he approaches Jongdae. Jongdae fights the instinct to take a step back. “And who might you be?”

 

“He’s a ranger,” Minseok cuts quickly before Jongdae can even open his mouth. “He’s with us now though. Name’s Jongdae.”

 

Chanyeol nods, recognizing a dismissal when he sees one. It leaves Jongdae slightly confused. He had been under the impression that this Chanyeol guy was someone who could be trusted, but he guesses not many people are truthful in Minseok and Baekhyun’s line of work. Fortunately, the tension is quickly dissipated by Baekhyun who latches on Chanyeol’s arm and urges him forward with whines of dehydration and extreme temperature.

 

“Why so secretive? I thought Chanyeol was a friend,” Jongdae asks Minseok, voice loud enough to be heard over the chatter in the streets, but low enough to not be caught by the duo in front of them.

 

“Chanyeol is trustworthy,” Minseok responds in the same tone. “But we can never know who might be eavesdropping on our conversations. It’s better to keep the details for a more private moment.”

 

That moment comes not too long after Chanyeol started directing them through the maze of streets and markets. He leads them to a grand building with windowless openings. It doesn’t seem to be made of the same material as the platform under their feet. It is sturdier, with marble pillars and golden doors. What shocks Jongdae the most is how cool the air inside is, even with the lack of windows. The change is greatly welcomed and Jongdae feels like he finally can breathe again.

 

“Water,” Baekhyun croaks. He pulls his visor up and Jongdae can see how red his face is from the heat. He can’t keep the laugh that’s bubbling up his throat. Baekhyun shoots him an affronted look, but gives up the fight when Chanyeol hands him a flask.

 

Jongdae uses the time Baekhyun takes to finally drink his water and settle down to observe his surroundings. Unlike Sehun’s place, which was minimalistic and unfurnished, Chanyeol’s is messy and hoarded. There are ship shells everywhere, some intact, others completely torn apart. There are bookshelves after bookshelves filled with tools from ancient to recent. Papers are hung on the walls, rippling under the impulse of the wind. It’s cramped and Jongdae struggles to find a place to sit without disturbing anything. Chanyeol doesn’t seem to mind the messiness though and sits right on the table, crunching papers under his butt.

 

“So what brings you to Kasaltos? It must be pretty important for Baekhyunnie to come here,” Chanyeol asks, teasing. Baekhyun gives him the finger before plopping down on a chair. He props his feet on the table, which irritates Minseok but Chanyeol doesn’t even bat an eyelash. Jongdae guesses he must be used to it.

 

“I like you Chanyeol,” Baekhyun says, “but I can’t stand this fucking planet.”

 

Chanyeol bursts into the booming earthshattering laugh of his. His whole body trembles with the force of it and his face morphs in a weird grimace. The sight is so surprising that Jongdae can’t help but laugh too.

 

“We’re here because Sehun mentioned having sold a Serenian spacecraft to a Krylos and we immediately thought of you,” Minseok explains, bringing the conversation back to the subject at hand. Jongdae almost forgot that they are here for a reason and not only to enjoy the beauty that is Kasaltos.

 

“You’re good detectives, because he effectively sold it to me,” Chanyeol confirms and Jongdae leaps in joy. If Chanyeol has the ship and is as trustworthy as Minseok painted him to be, then their problems are almost solved. They only need to get the ship, bring it back to Kim Joonmyun and they’re done. No more mercenaries and attempted murders and flying across the universe with people he doesn’t fully trust. “Unfortunately, it’s not functional anymore. At least, it won’t be for a while.”

 

Chanyeol points to the back of the room, where the body of a ship is lying on the ground. Even from afar and with close to no knowledge in spaceships, Jongdae can recognize the architecture style of Serena. The pale blue of the cabin glows in the bright light, almost as if it’s covered in little sapphires. It is a beautiful ship, worthy of someone as rich as Kim Joonmyun. It’s also really empty. There is no motor, no gadgets, nothing. It’s only the frame. All the technology has been removed as has been the furniture. Baekhyun curses under his breath and Jongdae, maybe for the first time, agrees with him.

 

“I already took it apart,” Chanyeol states the obvious with a sheepish smile. He looks embarrassed, as if he noticed his mistake. “Sold most of the pieces. I have some left and could probably reinstall them with no problem.”

 

“If we were to find the missing pieces, would you be able to build it back up?” Baekhyun wonders, chewing on his bottom lip. Jongdae notices he does that often, when he’s deep in thoughts and looking for solutions.

 

Chanyeol shakes his head. “I’m good at taking things apart, but putting them back together isn’t my speciality. Especially Serenian ships. They’re so sophisticated and complicated. I don’t mind giving you back what I have, though, if that can help you.”

 

“Thank you,” Minseok says, grateful. Jongdae is surprised that Chanyeol agrees to help them so easily, without even asking for anything in return. He doesn’t even know the situation they are in. Surely, he is losing a lot of money in this transaction. After all, a Serenian ship is pretty expensive in the legal market. On the black market, it probably is even more sought after.

 

Chanyeol sweeps the acknowledgement from the back of his hand. “I owe Baekhyunnie a great deal. Let’s consider this the payment of my debt.”

 

Baekhyun nods with a smile. They look close, Chanyeol and him, with the way they don’t stop touching each other, whether it’d be a hand on a thigh or a bump of shoulders. In the light of Jongdae’s recent discovery, he wonders why Minseok doesn’t seem jealous. Maybe he read the signs all wrong and Minseok and Baekhyun aren’t really together.

 

“I sold most of the techno stuff to Kyungsoo, obviously,” Chanyeol informs them as they are gathering their stuff to leave. He has agreed to keep the body of the ship for now, while they search the universe for the rest of the material. They’ll come back to gather it and bring it back to Yixing on Vasenta. According to Baekhyun, he’s the best technician there is. If someone can fix Joonmyun’s ship, it’s him. “For the furniture, well, it probably travelled a lot.”

 

“I think we’ll be able to make do with a replica,” Baekhyun reassures him. He reaches over to pull Chanyeol into a hug. Chanyeol’s larger frame engulfs him until the top of his head is visible. “Don’t worry, we’ll find a way. See you soon, Chanyeol.”

 

“Please be careful!” Chanyeol calls out from the doorway of the building. Jongdae looks back to see him waving obnoxiously. He waves back with a small smile, for once not tortured with anxiety or worries. He’s actually looking forward to the next step of this adventure.

 

 

 

 

 

The next logical step in their quest for Joonmyun’s Serenian ship is going to see that Kyungsoo guy. From what Jongdae managed to scrounge from Minseok, Kyungsoo is an ex-governmental engineer, specialized in security and defense.

 

“He used to design prisons,” Minseok says, stirring the tomato sauce he’s cooking. Chanyeol had been kind enough to let them raid his provisions before they left, their pantries now filled with fresh vegetables and frozen meat. Since then, Minseok had taken it upon himself to cook and the smell is driving Jongdae insane with hunger.

 

“Why did he leave the government?” Jongdae asks. He’s sitting on the counter, supervising Minseok’s every move. “It’s the most stable job there is!”

 

Minseok hums. Everybody in the universe knows that working for the government means richness and stability, things that aren’t easy to find in this day and age. Everybody also knows that quitting the government isn’t an option. Most people that work there know too much to be simply let go. In fact, Jongdae has never heard of anybody successfully leaving the government without being chased down and killed.

 

“It’s all because of Baekhyun, actually,” Minseok responds after a moment of silence. He’s chopping onions now, probably to add to his boiling sauce, and Jongdae feels the effect immediately. His eyes water and his nose starts running. Minseok, totally unaffected, laughs at him.

 

Jongdae groans in annoyance, both at the onions and at Minseok’s answer. “And I guess that because Baekhyun is involved, you’re not going to explain anything to me.” It’s becoming very predictable: Minseok won’t reveal anything about Baekhyun and Baekhyun won’t talk to Jongdae, which Jongdae thinks is stupid. They’re all in the same ship, all in the same adventure. One day, they’ll have to start trusting each other.

 

Minseok sighs. “I don’t like talking about people when they’re not there,” he says, finally dropping the chopped onions in the sauce and Jongdae finally feels like he can breathe. “But I guess I can explain a little, since we’re going to meet Kyungsoo and all.”

 

Jongdae nods. This is one reason, even if he thinks it’s the least solid one. In the end of the day, it doesn’t really matter why Minseok decides to open up, just that he does. He sits straighter on the counter, almost falling off in the process. Minseok snickers as he returns to the cutting board with carrots and celeries.

 

“Kyungsoo helped Baekhyun sneak out of prison,” Minseok says like it’s nothing but it doesn’t keep Jongdae’s jaw from dropping. He hasn’t had time to formulate a lot of hypothesises about Baekhyun’s relation with that Kyungsoo guy, but this is the last thing he would’ve thought about.

 

“I already told you that Baekhyun had it rough,” Minseok continues with no consideration for Jongdae’s surprise. “He was a child and got imprisoned in the highest security jail ship ever built because of a stupid mistake.” There’s anger in Minseok’s voice now, burning with a sense of injustice. “I know the rangers probably told you all sorts of things about the governmental prisons, how they are rehabilitation programs and reinsertion avenues, but it’s all a load of bullshit, especially in the high security ones. Baekhyun was a child, he wasn’t equipped to deal with the violence of that place. Kyungsoo saw that and got him out of there.”

 

“Why would he risk his career and his life for a child?” Jongdae wonders. Contrary to what Minseok thinks, Jongdae has no trouble believing his words. He also had moments in his ranger career where he doubted the institution, where he had to arrest people but didn’t believe them to be guilty. Law, like everything else in life, is unfair and always favors the rich and powerful.

 

“I don’t know the reason behind Kyungsoo’s actions,” Minseok admits. “I’m not particularly close to him, and the last time Baekhyun talked to him has to be a couple of years ago. In any case, Baekhyun’s past isn’t a subject of conversation we like to entertain often.”

 

That, Jongdae believes easily. He is overflowing with questions, mind even fuller of curiosity and mysteries, but he hesitates. Minseok has made a lot of confessions, discussing his boyfriend’s life. Is Baekhyun Minseok’s boyfriend? Jongdae has no idea and, even if the latest revelations are surprising and poignant, the question takes the forefront of Jongdae’s mind.

 

Then, something hot hits the tip of his nose and pulls him out of his thoughts. “What in the…?”

 

Minseok laughs and puts his tomato sauce covered finger in his mouth to suck the remaining of it. He doesn’t break eye contact while he does so and the action brings a healthy flush to Jongdae’s cheek. The latter scoops the tomato sauce from his nose and tastes it.

 

“Good, right?” Minseok boasts with an assured smile. Jongdae wants to deny his words but he can’t, because it _is_ that good. Granted, he hasn’t tasted a lot of tomato sauce in his life, because it’s so very human and resources aren’t easy to come by, especially in the rangers’ facilities, but the combination of flavors is unique and powerful. It’s so good he might eat it with a spoon and forgo the meat completely.

 

“Where did you even learn to cook like that?” Jongdae lets out in wonder. Minseok smiles brightly as he detects the hidden admiration in his voice and Jongdae is so fucked. He is because that smile is the most beautiful he’s ever seen and that’s just Jongdae’s luck to fall for a taken man.

 

“Baekhyun gets homesick sometimes,” Minseok answers simply and turns to the pot to stir the sauce and Jongdae’s heart drops in his chest. Of course it’s because of Baekhyun. “When we manage to put our hands on some human products, we jump on the occasion.”

Jongdae nods, not trusting his mouth. He’s afraid he could blurt out some compromising thoughts like how he hates how Baekhyun and Minseok are close or how he wants Minseok to fuck him on the kitchen counter. None of those options sound really appropriate at the moment.

 

“You could teach me how to cook some meals from Jundo,” Minseok says as he turns around to face Jongdae. His eyes glisten with something Jongdae can’t decipher, something warm and playful. “I would love to cook for you.”

 

Jongdae blushes at the innuendo in Minseok’s voice. Minseok reaches over, thumbing Jongdae’s upper lip and Jongdae freezes. He doesn’t even dare to take a breath, afraid of breaking the moment. Minseok is so beautiful this close-up, with his purple hair loose and cascading down his back in waves. In the little time they’ve had together, Jongdae got used to Minseok’s no-pupil eyes, even going as far not being able to look away from them. They might have no pupil but they shine with emotions and life at every giving time. Minseok takes his thumb away from Jongdae’s skin to lick it, full, round lips closing in on the digit and sucking hard. Jongdae can’t hold back a moan.

 

“You had a little bit of sauce there,” Minseok whispers in explanation, eyes still locked on Jongdae’s. For a moment, they don’t move, lost in each other. Then, a big sloshing sound resonates in the kitchen and they both turn around to see that the sauce, boiling, just spilled on the stove. They hurry to clean, turning down the heat and wiping the mess before it cools down enough to form a crust.

 

“Better keep a close watch on that before it makes another mess,” Jongdae says as he’s cleaning the washcloths they used.

 

Minseok hums in agreement, chasing Jongdae away from the kitchen with blames that he’s “distracting him” which fills Jongdae’s heart with joy. He wants to be a distraction, wants to be someone Minseok can’t help but think about. However, he has to agree that being around while Minseok is cooking might not be safe and, after a last smile towards the man that might be holding his heart in his palm, leaves the kitchen.

 

It’s only after having roamed the ship three times that Jongdae realizes that he has absolutely nothing to do. Minseok is obviously unavailable and Baekhyun has been in the cockpit for close to three days now. He says he has to because the road to Kyungsoo is tricky and they don’t have time to lose. While Jongdae agrees, he doesn’t think it’s healthy. With that thought in mind, Jongdae sets course to the control room.

 

“For a Judean, you’re really not subtle,” Baekhyun says over his shoulders when Jongdae enters the cockpit. “Could hear you coming from a mile away.”

 

Jongdae has half a mind to tell him that the ship isn’t even that long but he swallows the words back. Engaging Baekhyun in a war of tongues will only bring defeat because Baekhyun’s wit is endless and Jongdae isn’t good with words. Instead, he walks in with the intention to sit at the co-pilot seat and convince Baekhyun to take a break, at least for a couple of hours. His plan, however, falls to pieces when he sees Baekhyun.

 

Baekhyun’s usual catsuit is undone and peeled off his torso. In his place are miles and miles of milky white skin covering hard muscles. It makes Jongdae’s throat dry and he has to cough to disguise his gasp of surprise. What catch his attention, though, aren’t the well-defined six pacts or the prominent pecs, but the brutal scar on his left shoulder. It’s an angry shade of red and appears to be pulsating like a beating heart. Baekhyun is massaging it, fingers pressing hard enough to turn the skin surrounding it white, but it doesn’t seem to ease the pained expression off of his face.

 

“What the hell is that?” Jongdae breathes out. The scar is obviously old because it looks healed, but, at the same time, is fresh enough to hurt. It’s something straight out of a child’s nightmare.

 

Baekhyun doesn’t even looks up from the control board to respond. “Some old memories from a nice Opalian friend.” The sarcasm tints his words and the corner of his smirk and Jongdae’s jaw drops. Opalians are known for their savageness. They never hesitate to tear open opponents with their long claws and sharp teeth. It is said that the scars they leave behind are poisoned, slowly killing their victims in the course of a couple of months. When Jongdae voices this thought, Baekhyun lets out a humorless laugh.

 

“They are poisonous,” Baekhyun confirms, eyes still set everywhere except Jongdae. “And they hurt like a bitch, but they won’t kill me. Not yet anyway.” He’s still massaging the scar, sometimes pausing to enter new commands on the autopilot. He truly is monitoring the ship’s course closely, always readjusting and running space radar analysis.

 

“Have you ever piloted a ranger ship before?” Jongdae asks, sensing that Baekhyun won’t reveal anything more about his scar and wanting to keep the conversation going. They aren’t really close, Baekhyun and him, and it’s probably the first time they’re having a nice conversation. He doesn’t want the moment to end. “You seem awfully confident in your flying skills.”

 

“I’ve always had an incline for ships. Since I was a child, really, I just knew how to pilot.” Baekhyun starts redressing, wiggling on his seat until he can get both sleeves of his catsuit up his arms. Jongdae wishes he didn’t because the view was good. The thoughts make Jongdae wonder since when did he turn into such a thirsty hoe. “Got me in quite the trouble most of the time, but I love it.”

 

“You’re like that dude from Star Wars, I don’t remember his name,” Jongdae remarks. His first roommate in the rangers’ facilities had been a hardcore Georges Lucas’ fan. The guy’s work is outdated and vintage at best, but still considered a human classic. The ex-roommate would be so ashamed of him for having forgotten the name of that character.

 

Fortunately, Baekhyun understands what he means because he laughs, in earnest this time. Jongdae thinks he has a nice laugh, even if, most of the time, he uses it like a weapon. “Skywalker? Yeah, I get that a lot. But, unlike him, I’m no hero. Only a guy trying to stay alive.” Baekhyun smiles, zipping his catsuit back up. Now that he’s completely dressed again, he relaxes on his chair, propping his feet up the dashboard. The light catches on the dagger strapped to his ankle. “What’s bringing you here, Jongdae?”

 

The change of demeanor takes Jongdae by surprise. “I came to see how you were doing. Maybe offer to take over so you can sleep.” Jongdae doesn’t mention that he was worried, but he’s pretty sure Baekhyun can read right through him anyway. He’s glad Baekhyun doesn’t mention anything though, because he doesn’t know how he would explain his sudden emotions towards him.

 

“That’s nice of you, but I don’t think you have any idea of where we’re going,” Baekhyun says, tone just shy of being condescending. “If you want to bring me back food, though, I’ll gladly accept this offer.”

 

Jongdae nods. He knows how to recognize a dismissal when he hears one. He leaves the cockpit with a promise to bring back food, collecting a grateful smile in the process. He doesn’t head to the kitchen, though. His mind is boiling with information, both offered to him by Minseok and Baekhyun and obtained by his observation skills. Jongdae needs a moment to sort his thoughts out.

 

That’s how Jongdae finds himself on his bed, staring at the ceiling, lost in thought. He is starting to make sense of Minseok’s and Baekhyun’s past, even if he’s still missing important pieces of the puzzle. As a ranger, Jongdae has learned to always trust his instincts and go with his guts. Right now, his instincts are telling him to focus on Baekhyun, since he’s the biggest mystery. Jongdae knows close to nothing about the man, except that he’s human, has been in prison, was bitten by an Opalian, and likes to pilot ships. Baekhyun is dangerous and reckless and uses his loudness to direct the attention where he wants it to be. These are all big red flags for a ranger like Jongdae. However, his heart is steering him towards Minseok, who is kind and gentle and feels almost out of place with someone as flamboyant as Baekhyun. Where Baekhyun is all sharp edges and harsh moves, Minseok is a wave, smooth and steady.

 

Jongdae doesn’t know where he fits with them. He only knows that he has no choice but to find a place, because he’s stuck here. Jongdae doesn’t want to admit it, not even to himself, but he knows what kind of role he wants to play, at least to Minseok. He also knows how troublesome it would be to pursue that road. It’s better to let this idea die and find another place to fill, another role to take.

 

So, when Minseok calls him to come eat, Jongdae makes it his new challenge to get to know his companions more, in hopes of becoming something akin to friends.

 

 

 

 

 

Turns out, being friends is hard, especially when one of the guys you’re trying to be friends with has his tongue deep in your mouth. Jongdae doesn’t know how this happened. One second, he was cutting Ulceian bread for Minseok’s newest recipe. The next, he was pressed against the counter, knife slapped out of his hand, Minseok’s lips coaxing his open.

 

Jongdae doesn’t know how to react, where to put his hands, if he should kiss back or push Minseok away. His thoughts are jumbling in his head, coated in the foggy mist that comes with kissing your crush. Eventually, Minseok gets tired of trying to make out with unresponsive lips and leans back. He’s still pretty much in Jongdae’s space though, which makes it hard for him to thinking rationally.

 

“Get out of your head,” Minseok whispers against Jongdae’s lips, breath like fire. It ignites all sorts of feelings in the pit of his stomach, turning hidden desires in burning passions. “You know you want this too.”

 

There’s really nothing Jongdae can say to deny that because his recent reactions around Minseok clearly shows that he’s into him. And if it wasn’t that obvious, the hard on he’s currently pressing against Minseok’s thigh should do the trick. Jongdae leans forward, pressing his mouth against Minseok’s and that’s how all hell breaks loose.

 

There is nothing gentle or romantic about their next movements. They’re in the kitchen, probably the least appropriate room to have sex in in the entire ship, but it doesn’t even cross their minds to move this elsewhere. Jongdae can barely think about anything else but Minseok’s lips on his, Minseok’s skin under his hands. He rips Minseok’s shirt open, tearing through the material with a strength he didn’t know he possessed. Minseok imitates him, bending down to take a nipple in his mouth. He sucks lightly on it.

 

“Oh stars, Minseok,” Jongdae moans, hands lost in Minseok’s hair. He pulls at the hair tie, letting his hair loose and cascading down his back. It covers part of his chest, where muscles peek from under them. It makes the whole picture even more erotic.

 

“Come one, come on, fuck me,” Jongdae murmurs, mind completely lost to lust and desire. He can’t believe this is happening, is half-convinced this is a dream. It only prompts him to speed things up because, if he has to wake up, he wants to at least reach the good part. His words must contain something surprising to Minseok because he stops for a second, eying Jongdae with wonder. It only takes a movement of Jongdae’s hips, attracting attention to his really hard cock stretching the material of his pyjama shorts, to get him back on track.

 

Their clothes make their way to the ground in rapid succession. The contact of Minseok’s skin on his is maddening to Jongdae. He can’t get enough of those muscles, of that heat. He doesn’t know if it’s some sort of propriety Salafos have or if it’s only Minseok but every point of contact between them burns with a fire that consumes him wholly. In the midst of passion, they overthrow all cautions and intricacies, the need to get closer overwhelming. Jongdae is bent over the kitchen counter, cheek heated on the cool marble. Minseok already has two fingers in, roughly stroking them against his walls. The oil he’s using is cold and the contrast makes Jongdae moan.

 

“Faster, come one,” Jongdae urges him with a cant of his hips. Minseok’s fingers are short and stubby and don’t reach far enough to touch the spot where Jongdae wants them the most. They do a fantastic job of riling him up, though, making his cock pulse with desire.

 

“You’re asking for it,” Minseok murmurs as he jams another finger in Jongdae’s hole. The burn is brutal and Jongdae keens at the pressure. His body is protesting the intrusion, but his mind is receptive, wanting more and more until he burns out. Jongdae bucks his hips, fucking himself back on Minseok’s fingers when the latter doesn’t move. It pulls a grunt out of Minseok’s mouth. “You’re so asking for it.”

 

“Then give it to me,” Jongdae says. He looks over his shoulder, watching with intensity as Minseok coats his dick with a heavy layer of cooking oil. Jongdae should be disgusted by the type of lube, but he can’t be bothered right now. The only thing he wants is that dick up his ass.

 

His wish is accomplished once Minseok starts pushing in. Unlike his previous movements, his thrust is slow and thoughtful, as if he was worried of hurting Jongdae. At the pain that comes with the penetration, Jongdae can understand why. Minseok’s cock is thick, probably the thickest Jongdae has ever had, and the pressure almost makes him pass out. He stays still, the counter’s edge cutting into his hip bone, willing his body to adapt to the pain.

 

It takes some long minutes and a lot more oil before Minseok can fit his whole length in Jongdae. By now, Jongdae’s erection has softened considerably, but the fire is still singing in his guts. It only takes a flick of Minseok’s wrist to bring it back to life, his cock hardening in Minseok’s palm.

 

“Move,” Jongdae grunts with difficulty, gasping for breath. Minseok obeys, slowly reaching a steady and fast rhythm. The movement pushes Jongdae harder against the counter, hard enough to leave bruises, but the tip of Minseok’s dick is brushing against his prostate and he can’t think of anything else.

 

“Fuck, fuck, Minseok,” Jongdae moans. He’s boneless, a rag doll for Minseok to use as he may wish. However, contrary to what Jongdae believed, Minseok doesn’t use him. He stays mindful of Jongdae’s position and pleasure, even in the midst of passion. He reaches around his body to tug at Jongdae’s cock in time with his thrusts. It becomes too much too quickly and Jongdae, who hasn’t done anything like this in a while, comes with a shout of Minseok’s name.

 

Jongdae pants, trying to catch his breath after the core-shaking orgasm he just had. Minseok is still moving inside of him, albeit more slowly now that Jongdae is on the verge of oversensitivity. It’s clear that he’s chasing his own release but Jongdae knows he won’t reach it like that.

 

“Pull out,” Jongdae says, pushing Minseok away with both hands. Dazed by the sudden movements, Minseok obeys and Jongdae doesn’t waste a moment to turn around. Minseok looks wrecked, hair matted to his forehead by sweat, face flushed with desire. It’s a sight Jongdae swears he’ll never forget. For a second, he contemplates going down on his knees and finishing Minseok off with his mouth but then he catches sight of the half-empty bottle of oil on the counter and decides against it. Instead, he wraps a hand around his dick and jerks.

 

The reaction is immediate. Minseok moans loudly, pitching forward until his head rests on Jongdae’s shoulder. He uses the skin there to muffle his sounds of pleasure, sucking hickeys on the column of Jongdae’s throat. Jongdae applies himself to make Minseok come the fastest possible, digging the nail of his thumb in the slit, putting pressure against the head. Minseok’s cock twitches in his hand, one, twice, before a spurt of come lands on his fingers. Minseok, for all his moans, is quiet once his orgasm hits.

 

For a moment, nothing happens. Minseok is still leaning on Jongdae, they’re still naked in the kitchen. Baekhyun could come in at any moment and see them. That’s the thought that prompts Jongdae into action. Franticly, he pushes Minseok away and makes a beeline for his clothes. In his haste, he puts his shirt on backwards and his pants before his underwear.

 

“Get dressed,” Jongdae hisses when he notices that Minseok is still in the same spot he left him. His cock is soft now, hanging between his legs. The thickness is still impressive and, if he doesn’t keep himself in check, Jongdae might be tempted to go for another round. Instead of thinking about Minseok’s gorgeous body, Jongdae busies himself in tidying up the kitchen, making every evidences of their actions disappear.

 

Now that the passion has died down, Jongdae doesn’t know what to do or to say. He just slept with Minseok. Minseok, who is clearly in a relationship with Baekhyun. Minseok, who’s a wanted criminal. Minseok, who he’s stuck with for at least a couple of weeks. This is fucked up.

 

Jongdae’s thoughts must be written on his face because Minseok’s eyes soften. He reaches to take Jongdae’s hand, maybe to comfort him, but Jongdae doesn’t want any of it. They might be friends, but, right now, Jongdae doesn’t want anything to do with him. He needs to be alone, to digest what happened and to see what he can do with this situation.

 

"I... I have to go," Jongdae mutters, eyes anywhere but on Minseok. He can sense that Minseok wants to protest, or maybe voice that there's not really anywhere he can go in this ship, but Jongdae doesn't let him finish his sentence. In fact, he doesn't even let him start. Jongdae sprints out of the kitchen, thoughts in disarray. He's vaguely aware of how dramatic he's being right now, but can't bring himself to care.

 

Jongdae's feet lead him to his room, which isn't surprising. His bedroom, no matter how small and empty, is still his only safe haven in this ship. It's the place where he can go and sleep the day off, yes, but also where he can spend the whole night up thinking about his life. Right now, thinking seems to be a good idea, because if Jongdae doesn't start making sense of what happened, he's probably going to be consumed by self-doubts, shrivel up into a ball and die.

 

Thinking turns out to be quite the challenge when he can feel the ghost of Minseok's lips on his skin, the bruises the Salafos left behind throbbing. Jongdae is feeling rather boneless now that the adrenaline from the almost panic attack he had is wearing off. His eyes are closing on their own, but his mind is reeling with fear and worry, too much for him to even hope to fall asleep.

 

"Come on, Dae, get your shit together," Jongdae says to himself, sitting up on his bed. From the small window, he can see millions of stars passing by them at the speed of light. It's a beautiful sight, one that, when Jongdae first started patrolling, always managed to calm him down and quell the overwhelming loneliness he used to feel. Tonight, yet again, it seems to ease his worries a little bit, at least enough for him to regulate his breathing.

 

Jongdae slept with Minseok. There is no denying that and, if Jongdae is honest with himself, it doesn't come as a surprise. He has clearly been into Minseok for a while now, has been thinking about his body and his dick and the possibility for weeks. The fact that Minseok had wanted it isn't that shocking neither. It is true that they have been flirting and hinting at a possible attraction. Jongdae hasn't slept with anyone for months, he's in company of an attractive man that is clearly interested in him. Things are bound to happen, right?

 

Where the problem lies is that Minseok is in a relationship. With someone who's not only in the same ship at them, battling the same troubles, but also deadly and terrifying. Jongdae doesn't want to be afraid of Baekhyun anymore, and he knows that the human is more than what he lets on, but it's hard to break his first impression of the guy. He still remembers how Baekhyun tied him up with ease during their first meeting, or how he didn't hesitate a second before shooting a guy straight between the eyes. Baekhyun is terrifying and, now that Jongdae slept with his boyfriend, he's worried for his life.

 

"Minseok's probably not going to tell him," Jongdae tries to reassure himself. He knows he looks completely insane, talking to himself like this, pacing in his room, but talking out loud helps him focus on the present and keep the panic at bay. It's one of the numerous tricks he found by experience. "I mean, who would tell their significant other they cheated?"

 

Comforted by the thought, Jongdae takes a deep breath. There's no way Baekhyun could know something happened between Minseok and him if nobody tells him. He only needs to keep his mouth shut, pray that Minseok does the same, and everything will be fine, yes? They'll be able to go back to the way it was before, find the missing part of Kim Joonmyun's ship and be done with this damn adventure. Jongdae only needs to act like nothing happened.

 

Can he do that, though? Can he pretend he has never fucked Minseok? That's the next question and Jongdae doesn't know the answer. His mind is still filled with images, Minseok's abs glistening with sweat and looking so edible, Minseok's face flushed red with lust, Minseok's cock, hard and long and perfect against the sensitive skin of his asshole. As the memories scroll in his head, Jongdae feels his dick hardening between his legs. How will he pretend that he doesn't want a repeat of what happened?

 

"I'm so fucked," Jongdae moans, falling head first on his bed. He presses his face in his pillow, trying to smother his thoughts by screaming as loud as he can. The sounds are muffled, but still ringing in his ears, and Jongdae doesn't stop until he has no breath left. Strangely, he feels less unsettled now, more in control of his body and of his mind. He flips around, landing on his sore butt. The dull pain he feels reminds him of his previous activities, but it doesn't send him into another panic attack. Jongdae lets a small smile grace his lips.

 

"You got this, Dae, you got this," he murmurs to himself, eyes glued to the stars outside the window. And, in this moment, as the panic subsides and the drowsiness kicks in, Jongdae believes in himself for once.

 

 

 

 

 

Things do go back to normal after Minseok and Jongdae's intercourse. When Jongdae's path meets Minseok's, the morning after in the same kitchen they've fucked in, Minseok only smiles and asks him how he slept. They converse lightly, exchanging smiles and familiar banter. Minseok doesn't bring up the subject, only eyes Jongdae with mirth when the latter limps his way to the sink to put away his plate. Jongdae flicks him off, cheeks tinged pink. There is a secret understanding between them and Jongdae finds himself relaxing enough to crack a few jokes and invite Minseok to train with him. They work out, giving each other tips and pointers and, at the end of the day, Jongdae is back to being himself around the Salafos.

 

Even Baekhyun, when he leaves the cockpit to grab a couple of servings of spaghetti, doesn't act any different towards Jongdae. That seals the deal for him. Minseok's desire clearly was a one time thing, an urge he needed to get out of his system. Jongdae is glad, because the stress of the situation isn't worth the pleasure of the fucking. Still, at night, once he's sure nobody will come disturb him, Jongdae fists his cock with images of Minseok in his mind.

 

He's doing that just now, hand down his pants. Jongdae is laying under his covers, cock hard and leaking in his palm. He's close too, the fire in the pit of his stomach burning through most of his awareness of his surrounding. It's the small sliver of senses that isn't consumed by his impending orgasm that register the movement first. Jongdae opens his eyes at the rattling sound, hand stilling around the base of his dick. His body protests, still searching for release, but immediately his training takes over, pushing the desire to the back of his mind. Around him, the ship is shaking, walls trembling and knocking things off his dresser. It gives Jongdae the same feeling as when he's accosting and that is enough to spring him into action.

 

His pants rub against his erection when he pulls them back up but Jongdae wills himself to ignore it.  He hastily fastens his belt around his waist, thermogun hot against his leg. Jongdae is vaguely aware that his footsteps are too loud in the corridors leading to the cockpit and that if someone entered the ship with the intention of hurting him, they would lead them straight to him, but he doesn't care. He needs to get to the cockpit and know what the hell is this all about.

 

When he gets there, Jongdae doesn't find any intruders. Instead, he finds Baekhyun sitting on Minseok's lap, kissing soundly. The cockpit's windows are filled not with stars but with a shining type of metal, metal that is coming closer and closer. The first thought Jongdae has is that it's the end of the world, they are going to die and the two smugglers are exchanging their last kiss. It would be touching if Jongdae wasn't terrified and extremely jealous.

 

"Oh, sleeping beauty is up," Baekhyun sneers when he looks up from Minseok's lips and sees Jongdae standing in the doorway. His mouth is swollen, sign that he has been locking lips with Minseok for a while now. It makes Jongdae's blood boil in his veins and, oddly enough, his cock stir in his pants. Jongdae wants to grab it and will his erection down but he doesn't want to bring any attention to it. For some reasons, he knows Baekhyun wouldn’t be the type to quietly let an embarrassing situation like this die.

 

Baekhyun's words seem to bring Minseok back to the present and he pushes Baekhyun away from him rather harshly. Baekhyun loses his balance, falling off of Minseok's lap and landing on his butt on the ground. "Hey, what was that for?" He protests with a pout.

 

"Jongdae," Minseok says. He sounds out of breath and... guilty, almost as if he didn't want Jongdae to notice him making out with Baekhyun. It doesn't make any sense to Jongdae. They're boyfriends, who wouldn't expect them to kiss from time to time? "We didn't wake you up, did we?"

 

Baekhyun scoffs. "Are you serious? The guy could sleep through the fucking Big Bang. Remember that time we fucked right outside his door? Didn't even budge from his bed, even when you..." Minseok shoves his whole hand in Baekhyun's face, effectively muffling the rest of his sentence. It doesn't matter, though, because Jongdae has heard enough. He should've known Baekhyun was disgusting like that, fucking in front of someone's bedroom like he owns the place.

 

"Actually, I wasn't sleeping," Jongdae says, deciding to steer the conversation to a safer subject. He doesn't want to know anything about Minseok and Baekhyun's sex life. It makes his stomach twist in jealousy, which only brings unwanted emotions and inappropriate thoughts. He has no right to be jealous because he's not Minseok's and Minseok's not his. "I heard noises, almost like we're accosting, so I came to see what was happening."

 

Baekhyun licks Minseok's palm, who pulls his hand away with disgust. "Well, Mr. Obvious, we are accosting," Baekhyun says as he gets back to his feet. He gestures to the radar, where the hologram of an imposing ship is displayed. "Found a good friend and decided to pay him a little visit."

 

Jongdae's jaw drops. That's it. They're visiting a friend? When they have crazy mercenaries chasing them around the galaxy with hopes of bringing their heads back to their master? Is that man out of his mind?

 

Minseok must notice Jongdae's disbelief because he quickly grabs his attention. "Jongin is the furniture maker we were talking about back at Chanyeol's. We'll probably be able to get all the things we need for the Serenian ship."

 

Jongdae lets out a sound of understanding. "Of course, you wouldn't tell me that in the beginning. I thought we were going to Pau."

 

"Where would be the fun in that?" Baekhyun laughs. He's back to his place in the pilot's seat, pushing new commands in the dashboard. Minseok hits him on the shoulder before turning his attention back to Jongdae.

 

"Pau is our destination, yes, but Jongin's a wandering soul. When we heard that he was in the area, we decided to stop by, instead of having to track him down later."

 

The explanation makes a lot of sense. Jongdae only wishes they would've talked to him about it. He knows he's not really part of their whole dream team but he's still stuck here with them, flying across the universe and putting his life in danger. He thinks he at least deserves to be kept in touch with the decisions they make.

 

A loud bang reverberates in the cockpit, followed by a series of sounds akin to drum beats. Baekhyun jumps to his feet, zipping his catsuit back up to hide the bruises on his collarbones. It brings Jongdae’s thoughts back to his own marks lying under his clothes, left by the same pair of lips that created Baekhyun's. Dread fills Jongdae's stomach and, for the first time since his intercourse with Minseok, Jongdae regrets. He catches Minseok's eyes when he turns around and it's clear that Minseok has been following his line of sight and understands what he's thinking. Jongdae adverts his eyes; it's not the moment to have this conversation.

 

"Let's go!" Baekhyun says, nonchalantly. If he's aware of the tension in the room, he hides it well. "We don't want to make our friend wait." He forgoes the autotranslator mask, an interesting choice. It's the first time Jongdae has seen Baekhyun not wearing it outside the spacecraft. It makes him wonder which species Jongin belongs to.

 

Minseok doesn't move from his chair, still looking at Jongdae with questions in his eyes. Jongdae imperceptibly shakes his head. He doesn't want to talk about it, especially not with Baekhyun here with them. Talking about Baekhyun, the human is becoming impatient, tapping his foot obnoxiously on the ground. Jongdae plasters a smile on his face. "Let's go!"

 

 

 

 

 

Jongin, surprisingly enough, isn't part of any species. He's probably part of a series, but Jongdae isn't well-versed enough in robots to be able to determine which one. He's clearly based off of the human physiology, with two arms and two legs. His body, though, is a mix of different pieces. It seems like an inside job, something maybe even Jongin did himself, to enhance capacities and add functionalities. There's a crate hiding tools and weapons in the center of his chest, surrounded by buttons of all shapes and sizes. His face is the weirdest of all. Instead of a mouth, Jongin has a wire mesh with light shining through in cadence with his words. He doesn't have eyes but hundreds of sensory captors all around his head. It's a little bit unnerving for Jongdae to converse with someone without visible eyes. He feels observed, but can't pinpoint where it's coming from and it makes the hair rise from the back of his neck.

 

"It's been a long time since I saw you," Jongin says in an autotune voice. It reminds Jongdae of Baekhyun's voice when he uses the autotranslator, robotic and rhythmic in a way no living creature could recreate. "Are you here because of Kim Joonmyun?"

 

"Why do everybody always assume that?" Baekhyun whines. He's already snooping around the shop, picking trinkets up to look underneath. The shop is a mess, stuffs pilled up to the ceiling. There seems to be no real order as to how the objects are kept, couches besides cooking utensils besides vintage thermoguns. "Can't we pass by because we missed you?"

 

"I don't think you have the heart to miss anyone, Baekhyun," Jongin replies with a humor Jongdae didn't know a robot could possess. The offended face Baekhyun makes at that pulls a laugh out of Minseok and Jongdae. Baekhyun scoffs at their reactions and makes a show out of turning his back on them, mumbling about how no one appreciates him.

 

“I’m just teasing you, Baekhyun,” Jongin reassures him. The colors of his mouth turn a subdued tinge of pink, almost as if fond. It all leaves Jongdae with a weird sensation. Robots, at least the robots he used to know, don’t have any emotions. They’re machines, designed for certain jobs. Jongin, though, is clearly sentient, has a personality and feelings and autonomy outside of his specific tasks. Jongdae doesn’t know how he feels about it.

 

Baekhyun, as Jongdae expected, doesn’t grace Jongin with an answer. He merely continues to look around, getting far enough from them to completely disappear from view. Minseok doesn’t look too worried though, keeping his attention fixed on Jongin and Jongdae decides to imitate him. After all, Baekhyun is a grown man. He can handle himself in a specialty shop.

 

“I see you finally decided to add someone to your little duo,” Jongin suddenly says, turning his focus back on Jongdae and Minseok. Jongin’s tone is still the same rhythmic sound, no inflexion or intonation, but Jongdae inexplicably feels shy, as if Jongin is implying something more than just him joining the two smugglers in their quest. A quick look at Minseok’s flushed face confirms his impression.

 

“No, no, he’s a ranger, it’s complicated,” Minseok stammers out. His voice comes out shaky and unsure and he waves his hands in front of his face, desperate to deny Jongin’s assumptions. Jongin looks as unconvinced as a robot can look but thankfully doesn’t push the subject any further and for that, Jongdae is grateful.

 

“Anyway, we’re here to get some Serenian replicas for Kim’s ship,” Minseok says, taking the opportunity to bring them back on track. It doesn’t erase the smug tint on Jongin’s mouth but it proves to be a perfect distraction. Jongin’s whole body lights up, literally: thousands of little dots shine a vibrant yellow as he vibrates with excitement. Jongdae has barely enough time to move out of the way before Jongin sprints to the far left corner of the room.

 

“Is he always like this?” Jongdae asks. He pats a strand of hair that has been ruffled by Jongin’s movement; that robot surely has power in him. Minseok nods and shrugs, indicating that he doesn’t really know what’s going on neither. It isn’t that reassuring, but Jongdae doesn’t feel too anxious. The atmosphere of Jongin’s shop reminds him of the old merchant he used to work for on Jundo, man of which he only has good memories. It calms his natural tendencies to overthink everything and send himself in a panic.

 

Minseok and Jongdae follow Jongin to the back of the shop. Baekhyun is still nowhere to be found, but sounds of metallic objects being moved around reach their ears and confirms that he’s still alive somewhere. They have to climb over furniture lying around, avoiding piles of stuff that could fall at every given moment. They are halfway there when something red and bright catches Jongdae’s eyes. A closer inspection reveals a dozen of little balls filled with some sort of liquid. Jongdae’s eyes go wide as he realizes what they are. Before Minseok can realize he has stopped following, Jongdae jams them in his pockets and continues on his way to the back of the store. There, they find Jongin on his knees in front of boxes, pulling stuff apart and throwing it away. They have to dodge a couple of objects as they make their way closer.

 

“I’m sure I have an interior design plan of a Serenian ship somewhere,” Jongin mutters as he senses them close. He finally pulls out of a box a roll of blueprint papers and brandishes it with something akin to a triumphant smile. “I knew it!”

 

Jongin unwraps the blueprints. They’re a complex and detailed map of the Serenian ship, down to its silverware and bedsheets color. It’s a wonder how Jongin managed to put his hands on something like this but a quick look around assures Jongdae that the robot can probably find anything he wants. Jongdae cranes his neck to see the map better and is quickly discouraged. The amount of stuff in the ship is astronomical. It’s going to take them months if not years to gather all the material to make Chanyeol’s frame look like the original.

 

“You’re lucky,” Jongin says as he examines the blueprints. “I have most of the components in my possession, somewhere.”

 

“Somewhere,” Jongdae repeats in disbelief. Might as well find a needle in a haystack, with the number of stuff in the place. Of course, because Jongin seems to be all-mighty and know every single thing Jongdae is thinking, the robot turns to him with a gentle hue on his mouth.

 

“Don’t worry your pretty little head, ranger,” Jongin tells him. “I’ll have the furniture ready in a couple of minutes. Go sit down and enjoy a cocktail while I gather everything.”

 

Jongdae raises an eyebrow at the suggestion. It’s not that he doesn’t trust Jongin to do a good job. In fact, he’s pretty sure he’s the only one who would be able to locate anything in this mess. It’s the cocktail part of the deal he’s not too sure about. Why would a robot own alcohol is beyond him and he isn’t sure it’s a good idea to get drunk. Jongdae has the habit of becoming way too frank and truthful when drunk and in the situation he’s in, it would be dangerous.

 

His reticence is completely lost to Minseok, though, who gladly takes Jongin on his offer. He all but drags Jongdae with him until they reach the only part of the room that isn’t completely taken over by stuff. There they find a small table barely big enough for two and a wine refrigerator filled to the brim with bottles of Izatkan beer. It eases Jongdae’s worry: Izatkans aren’t known for their tolerance and their beer is at a mere 1.5 percent of alcohol. There’s no way Jongdae will get drunk on that.

 

For a moment, neither of Jongdae and Minseok talk. They sip their beer in silence, eyes roaming the interior of the ship. Jongdae follows Jongin as he busies himself pulling stuff away from piles, not even once consulting the blueprints still in his hands. Baekhyun is still missing and Jongdae has half a mind to wonder if he’s buried somewhere, maybe under a tower of puzzle boxes.

 

“I’m sorry for what Jongin said,” Minseok says suddenly, grabbing Jongdae’s attention. “He always assumes that when we bring someone with us.” It takes a moment for Jongdae to recall Jongin’s words about being the third part of their relationship.

 

“It didn’t bother me,” Jongdae replies with a small shrug. “I mean, we did sleep together, but it’s nothing like that. Right?” He asks only to reassure himself. Minseok nods, a small sound of agreement leaving his lips. “I understand that you’re not exclusive?”

 

Minseok splutters, his sip of beer finding its resting place on the table. Jongdae lets out a surprised laugh at the reaction. He didn’t know this would be such a sensible subject. If he had known, he would’ve brought it up sooner.

 

“Baekhyun and I have been together for a long time but no, I wouldn’t describe us as exclusive,” Minseok finally says after having calmed down.

 

Jongdae hums. It certainly explains why Minseok didn’t hesitate in pursuing Jongdae and why he didn’t freak out afterwards like Jongdae had. In retrospect, it makes a whole lot of sense. Minseok and Baekhyun didn’t hide their relationship but didn’t flaunt it in Jongdae’s face either, which screams domesticity to him. They also never showed any kind of jealousy. Jongdae hasn’t been around a lot of polyamorous couples but if one could be perfect, it would be them. They have that kind of casual relationship that would work in this situation.

 

Jongdae’s silence is clearly making Minseok uncomfortable, with how he worries the fringe of his long-sleeved shirt in between his fingers. It’s a weird sight for Jongdae, because Minseok has projected nothing other than his usual confidence since they met. To see him embarrassed and shy is something totally new and exciting. It’s refreshing to, for once, not be the only one totally off of his axis.

 

“What are you talking about?” Baekhyun asks, breaking the moment. He’s covered in dust and spider webs. He takes a seat besides Minseok, trying to get him to cuddle without much success. Minseok pulls a face at the state of his clothes and makes a show of pushing his chair closer to Jongdae and away from Baekhyun.

 

“Jongdae wanted to know about our relationship,” Minseok says, turning the odds in his favor as Jongdae’s face flushes red. Baekhyun makes a noise of understanding, leaning on the back legs of his chair and propping his feet on the table. It’s disgusting, because they are drinking and he’s dirty but Jongdae doesn’t say anything. He’s too used to Baekhyun’s habits to try and make him change.

 

“What did you tell him? How you were a simple spatial relations student and got corrupted by a wanted criminal like me?” Baekhyun teases with an easy smile. He looks relaxed, like all the tension he had been feeling back on the ship has lifted from his shoulders.

 

Baekhyun’s words grab Jongdae’s attention immediately. Their relationship is one of the subjects that has been plaguing his mind with questions since he met them. Now that the opportunity to learn more about it is presented to him on a silver platter, Jongdae would be totally stupid not to take advantage of it. “Is that how you met for real?”

 

Baekhyun laughs. “It’s close enough,” he answers with a mysterious smile. Jongdae whines in protest at the cryptic answer, which propels Baekhyun into telling him more details. “We met through Jongin, actually.”

 

“I was a space relations student at the time at the university back in Salafos and Baekhyun had just gotten out of prison,” Minseok starts, giving a meaningful look at Jongdae. The latter nods, remembering very clearly that part of the story. “There was a wild chase for him and Baekhyun was trying to escape and find a place to lay low for a while. Turns out he chose Salafos.”

 

“I didn’t choose anything,” Baekhyun denies with a glare. “Kyungsoo told me to go to Salafos because it’s a hellhole of ice and cold where nobody wants to go. And he was damn right.”

 

Minseok rolls his eyes. "Salafos is beautiful and underrated," he defends his home planet. Baekhyun opens his mouth, probably to spew some unsolicited opinions again but Minseok's glare stops him. "Either way, he ended up at Jongin's place, with whom I shared a couple of classes."

 

"Jongin went to university?" Jongdae has never heard of universities accepting robots in their student body. At the same time, though, he doesn't know a whole lot about Salafos, other than it being an ice planet with a low population. Either way, if a robot could go to university, it would certainly be Jongin.

 

Minseok nods. "One of the only robots to enroll," he adds, satisfying Jongdae's curiosity. "Kyungsoo and Jongin decided that the better way to hide Baekhyun from the government was to keep him in plain sight. They found him a job in the school's library."

 

"It was easily the hardest thing I've ever done!" Baekhyun exclaims. He pushes his chair back on its four legs to lean in closer to Jongdae. "Try working in a governmental university's library when you can't even read. It was wild."

 

Jongdae's mouth drops open. "You can't read?"

 

Baekhyun laughs, shaking his head. It dislodges all the dust coating his hair and spreads it in the air surrounding them. Minseok makes a pinched face. "Now, I can. But I was barely sixteen at the time, spent the most of my childhood in prison and, news flash, they don't really teach you anything in prison. I had never seen books in my life before landing in Salafos. I had absolutely no idea what I was supposed to do."

 

"It was a total mess in the beginning," Minseok confirms with a fond smile. "Jongin helped him out a lot and dragged me with him most of the time." Minseok shares an accomplice look with Baekhyun and Jongdae can't help but feel like he's intruding a personal moment.

 

"So you met at the library, Minseok saw how hopeless you were and fell in love with you?" Jongdae completes the story with a little laugh. It sounds so cliche and  it surprises him how normal their meeting is. Somehow he imagined a more dangerous and epic meeting, maybe in the middle of a fight against the government or in a black market. It just seems so out of character compared to who they have become.

 

"He fell for my ethereal looks and amazing personality, yes," Baekhyun flutters his eyelashes at Minseok, falsely coy. Minseok shakes his head in fond disbelief at Baekhyun's antics, but doesn't deny the claims. It makes Jongdae smile, even if his heart is unusually heavy in his chest. He's not dumb, he knows what it means, but he doesn't want to dwell on it. After all, he knew where this was going when he breached the subject.

 

Jongdae has other questions, their story still filled with more holes than puzzle pieces. He's trying to formulate one when Jongin seemingly materializes from thin air. Contrary to Baekhyun, he's pristine, his chrome exterior still shining like it has just been polished. He smiles as he claps his two hands on Baekhyun's shoulders. Baekhyun winces at the strength of the impact.

 

"I found everything you need," Jongin announces with a flourish movement of his arms. Baekhyun ducks just in time to avoid another hit and Jongdae has to stifle his laugh in the crook of his arm at the totally offended face Baekhyun makes. "We only need to load it up in your ship and you're good to go."

 

It's their cue to stop lounging around and sharing past memories and get to work. Jongdae had known the Serenian ship was loaded with a whole lot of stuff but seeing it all pilled up together really anchors it home. There are couches and beds, home appliances and fire arms. There is probably more furniture in here than in the whole ranger facility. Jongdae isn't even sure it will all fit in his ship.

 

It takes them close to three hours to load everything in the ship. They manage to make everything fit, compromising space and comfort for practicality. All free corners are converted in storing rooms, the only room left alone being the cockpit, for obvious reasons. Jongdae sighs in relief as he puts down the final box of kitchenware on the ground of the training room. He's exhausted, his arms are shaking from the effort to lift heavy boxes after heavy boxes for hours. Baekhyun and Minseok don't seem much better, testimony to how hard they all worked. Only Jongin looks unbothered, which doesn't come as a surprise.

 

"Do we owe you anything?" Jongdae asks the robot from where he's splayed in the little space left uncluttered on the floor. He's already pulling his wallet out of his pant's pocket. He doesn't have a lot of money on him, only some coins used on Fantasia, remains from his long-gone vacation. He has his bank card though.

 

Jongin shakes his head, mouth turning a bright yellow to indicate his protestation. "Everything is free for my friends. Now you take care and stay safe, yes?" He's directing his attention on Minseok as he says that, to which Minseok respond positively. He gets to his feet long enough to pull Jongin into a hug, thanking him for his help. Jongin leaves with a small wave and a promise to pass in the B7 galaxy in the future months and visit Minseok's parents.

 

"I'm dead," Baekhyun moans. "I don't want to move ever again."

 

Minseok shakes his head and kicks him lightly in the ribs. Baekhyun whines loudly but doesn't budge. "Come one, we need to get back on the road," Minseok says as he crouches down to pet Baekhyun's hair. Like a cat, Baekhyun pushes his head against Minseok's hand to get more cuddles. Jongdae smiles and decides to leave them be. He knows where they're going and how to get there; he can pilot his own ship to Pau.

 

"I'm piloting, you rest," Jongdae tells them behind his shoulder. Baekhyun lets out a shout of joy, dubbing Jongdae as the "best person in the whole galaxy". Minseok thanks him sincerely, with fondness in his voice and the smile it puts on Jongdae's face stays there even when he falls asleep in the pilot's seat.

 

 

 

 

 

Life goes back to normal after their run-in with Jongin. They are still a couple of hundreds of light-years away from Pau, which roughly translated in three weeks and a half of travel left to go. There is not a lot of things to do in a flying spaceship, especially when said spaceship is filled with stuff. Jongdae can't even hit the gym and practice his new hand combat skills. He has taken to help Minseok with cooking and play games on Baekhyun's beat-up portable console. He's getting bored, which has to be expected, but, if he's honest with himself, he's faring way better than he thought he would.

 

The only thing Jongdae can't get used to is the new dynamic the lack of space creates. They have no place to move, which means they have no place to be alone or apart. Most often than not, Jongdae finds himself squished in the same square foot as Minseok or Baekhyun or, bless the stars, both. It's not as uncomfortable as Jongdae thought it would be, which is as exciting as it is odd. It seems like their conversation about Minseok and Baekhyun's past has diluted some of the awkwardness and they now joke around like they've been friends forever. Jongdae isn't mad at the fact, not at all, but it brings new problems he doesn't know how to deal with.

 

There's the obvious problem that spending time with your crush doesn't help it go away. Jongdae had hoped that sleeping with Minseok would starve down most of his feelings for the man and allow him to live a relatively normal life until he could get out of here, but he has been wrong. Totally and utterly wrong. The only thing sleeping with Minseok managed to do is make Jongdae want to do it again. Adding that to the fact that spending time with Minseok only helps highlighting how great of a guy he really is. He's a quiet presence in Jongdae's life, a steady anchor. He reassures Jongdae when he's anxious, distracts him from his worries with a smile and a duty in the kitchen. Minseok is genuinely a good guy and it only makes Jongdae's infatuation grow.

 

It doesn't help that, even if he promised to cut it out, Minseok keeps flirting with him. It's more subtle now, less in your face and more sneaky looks and barely there touches, but it's still flirting. It brings Jongdae back to the time before they slept together, to the chase and the wanting, and he doesn't know what to do with all those feelings. He's not sure if Minseok is only doing this to reel him up or if he's genuinely interested. If anything, it'd be weird to openly flirt and have sex with Minseok's boyfriend barely a couple of meters away, even if they do claim to be in an open and nonexclusive relationship.

 

Jongdae's biggest problem isn't Minseok though, but Baekhyun. Well, if Jongdae is honest, Baekhyun isn't really the problem. In fact, the boy has done nothing other than being his annoying and loud self. It's Jongdae that suddenly finds everything he hated in Baekhyun to be cute and attractive. He's still an asshole and likes to make fun of Jongdae, but instead of being offended and flipping him off, Jongdae laughs and blushes and gets shy. He still eats with his mouth open, still answers all of Jongdae's questions with elusive words, still remains funny but mysterious, not committing too much to anything. While Jongdae used to find this tactic unfair and a show of distrust, it now intrigues him and makes him even more entranced. It's mortifying at best.

 

Of course, Baekhyun is also ridiculously physically attractive. He's toned and has broad shoulders, with black hair that highlights the paleness of his human skin. He might even be more beautiful than Minseok, which seems like a sin in Jongdae's book. Baekhyun is also kind of an exhibitionist, always walking with his catsuit unzipped, claiming that the air is too hot to bother with clothes. It exposes his well-defined chest, lathered with freckles that Jongdae has fantasize about mapping out with his tongue more than once. Baekhyun also has a serious oral fixation. He's always sticking his tongue out to wet his lips, at least when he doesn't have a finger jammed into his mouth. He makes it look so innocent, like he doesn't do it on purpose but it drives Jongdae totally insane. Between his weeks old infatuation with Minseok and his newer, completely maddening, attraction towards Baekhyun, Jongdae can't find a moment to pause and just _breathe_.

 

The only place he can go to have a little privacy is his room. Jongdae has resorted to spend the most time he can there, only to avoid blurting out his feelings out loud. He feels pulled apart at the seam, completely strained by whatever he's feeling. Even when alone, he can't escape the hold the two smugglers have on him. In the privacy of his room, Jongdae fists his cock and comes so hard he blacks out for a minute or two.

 

He's coming down from his high, gasping for breath. The scene Jongdae imagined replays in his mind, how he was on his hands and knees for Baekhyun to abuse his sweet spot. Minseok had been sitting further down the bed, hand furiously jerking his cock as he eyed the show in front of him. It makes Jongdae feel dirty for imagining something so lewd but he can't get it out of his mind. He knows Baekhyun and Minseok aren't exclusive but would they be okay with something like this? A threesome.

 

Needless to say, Jongdae has never done anything like this before. He knows about it, of course, and, other than jerking off to his own fantasy, has also watched a lot of porn with that kind of scenario. He knows what it entails and how it should be done. He's still hesitating, for many reasons.

 

At the top of his head, the first reason Jongdae can come up with is Baekhyun's interest in him. While Minseok has made it pretty obvious he's into Jongdae (literally), Baekhyun hasn't shown any incline in pursuing some kind of relationship with him. In fact, Baekhyun hasn't even shown any desire to be his friend. Jongdae can't help but think that Baekhyun wants nothing to do with him but only puts up with his presence because he has no other choice.

 

There's also the fear of fucking up the already precarious relationship he has build with Minseok and Baekhyun. Jongdae knows that a big part of this fear is his insecurity and anxious tendencies talking. Contrary to what everyone around him believes, Jongdae is well aware of his weaknesses and flaws. He just doesn't know what to do with them. He has tried everything, from counseling back at the ranger facility to weird meditation tricks a Krylos murderer taught him while they waited for the governmental officials to come collect her. Jongdae has come to the conclusion that there's nothing he can do for his anxiety except learn to live with it.

 

Accepting his anxiety doesn't mean Jongdae can suddenly feel confident in himself and ask both Baekhyun and Minseok out. Accepting his anxiety means hide in room, curled up under his covers and try to think about something else. It's not a really successful method. Jongdae knows that his fear is probably baseless, but the presence of that probably is enough to turn him off of the idea of seducing them.

 

The worst and most important reason is hard for Jongdae to admit, even in his mind. It's scary in a way that anxiety isn't, inducing a kind of fright that paralyzes him completely. Jongdae isn't sure he's into them for the sex only. He might be in for more than that.

 

Sometimes Jongdae catches himself daydreaming about a world where Minseok and Baekhyun are his boyfriends. They would stroll down the beaches of Fantasia, hands in hands in hands. They would feed each other like disgusting couples in love. He would come home from a hard day of work at the ranger facility to Minseok cooking and Baekhyun playing video games. There would be amazing sex and romantic dates and everything Jongdae has ever longed for. 

 

Jongdae is aware that everything is wrong with this daydream. There's no way in hell Baekhyun and Minseok would be as domestic as he imagines them to be. They're wanted criminals, roaming the universe in search of things to steal and resell. There would be no romantic night on the beach, no apartment to go back to. Their life together would be filled with danger and blood, crazy escapes and wild chases. Jongdae knows that, but it doesn't deter his enthusiasm about the possibility.

 

Jongdae isn't even sure of what he sees in them. Part of him explains his attraction by their otherworldly good looks and the aura of danger they exude. They are the perfect definition of bad boys, with scars and piercings and weapons shining in the night. The bigger part of him, though, screams that they could fill the overwhelming abyss of loneliness he's been feeling since his father died. Jongdae knows they could, he just doesn't know if he wants them to.

 

These thoughts storm into Jongdae's head almost 24/7, leaving him with only a small window of time to be himself. He uses it to try to look as normal as possible to not alert neither Baekhyun nor Minseok of his struggles. Apparently, he isn't doing too well in this area because it only takes three days before Minseok corners him in the ship's minuscule bathroom.

 

"What the hell is wrong with you? Do we make you uncomfortable? What is happening?" Minseok fires up as soon as the door closes behind them. He looks frantic, determined to find out what is bothering Jongdae.

 

It takes a moment for Jongdae's mind to stop reeling and for him to get his footing back. "Nothing is wrong? I don't know what you're talking about."

 

"You've been avoiding us since we got back on the road after meeting with Jongin," Minseok says, going straight to the point. It's something Jongdae appreciates in the man. He's the total opposite of Baekhyun: frank and direct, not beating around the bush. "Is it because of what we talked about?"

 

Jongdae wants to ask what Minseok is meaning about that. Is he talking about Baekhyun's past or the non exclusivity of their relationship? Because while the first subject doesn't bother him whatsoever, the second is clearly the root of all his problematic thoughts.

 

"I just needed to do some thinking," Jongdae tells him, hoping that Minseok will drop the subject. He doesn't have much faith that it will happen, though, because Minseok isn't the type to stop before he gets what he wants. It's a quality that surprised Jongdae when he discovered it.

 

"Talk to me about it," Minseok pleads, gesturing for Jongdae to sit down on the toilet seat. When Jongdae obeys, he takes a seat on the edge of the bathtub. "I can't help but feel like I have something to do with it and I don't want you to be worried or anxious."

 

Minseok's words warm Jongdae's heart. "I just... have been thinking about us." Jongdae doesn't define us, because he's not sure how to approach the subject. It feels weird to admit that he's into Minseok and his boyfriend, especially here, seating on the toilet. At the same time, Jongdae thinks it might do him good to voice it out, put it in the open. "I'm not over you."

 

It clearly isn't what Minseok was expecting to come out of Jongdae's mouth. His jaw drops, his eyes widening at the words. For a moment, the silence stretches between them, making Jongdae a little anxious. He's afraid he overstepped the boundaries they kind of establish after their hook-up. He can't concentrate on anything, eyes roaming the inside of the bathroom, never stopping on one place long enough to really see anything. It's finally Minseok's laughter of disbelief that eases the panic brewing in his heart.

 

"I'm not over you neither," Minseok admits in a low voice. There's a slight blush on the plane of his cheeks and he's biting his lips. Jongdae doesn't think he has seen him that beautiful. He's everything Jongdae has ever wanted in a partner. "I saw how distressed you were after we slept together and I didn't want to add to your inner turmoil but I would totally be down to make this arrangement a more permanent one."

 

Jongdae's heart drops. "I wouldn't be in it only for the sex," Jongdae hears himself mutter. He can't believe he's doing this, confessing to Minseok like this, but it seems like his mouth has a mind of its own. "I'm... I like you."

 

Minseok's sharp intake of breath isn't a sound Jongdae has ever wanted to hear. It speaks of disbelief and total surprise, like the possibility of Jongdae being into Minseok for more than sex has never crossed his mind. Jongdae can feel his heart breaking in his chest, tiny little pieces dropping to the bottom of his stomach.

 

"I know you probably don't feel this way about me and I know you already have someone," Jongdae says, just to break the silence. "Far from me the idea of breaking you and Baekhyun up. I just... can't keep it in anymore and it's okay for you to just let me down..."

 

Jongdae is blabbering and would probably have continued to if Minseok hadn't stopped him with his lips. It takes a moment for Jongdae to realize that Minseok isn't hurrying to let him know he's not interested but instead, kissing him. When the realization hits, Jongdae lets out a gasp of surprise. Minseok uses the opportunity to deepen the kiss. He licks at the back of Jongdae's teeth, sucks his tongue in his mouth with an overwhelming enthusiasm. It reminds Jongdae of the desperation that coated their last make-out session.

 

"I was so afraid I was going to overwhelm you if I talked about feelings," Minseok murmurs against his lips. Minseok's hands are roaming all over Jongdae's face, touches as soft as the caress of the wind.

 

"Well, I'm kind of overwhelm now." Minseok laughs, hot breath brushing on Jongdae's mouth. It all feels surreal to him, the fact that he confessed and Minseok... confessed back? "Do you like me too?" Jongdae screeches, pushing Minseok away to comically stare with wonder in his eyes.

 

Minseok nods, coming back in Jongdae's space. He's sitting in Jongdae's lap, hard thighs on either side of his hips. "I've liked you for a while, Jongdae. Baekhyun can't believe you didn't notice."

 

"Baekhyun knows about this?" Jongdae croaks. This has to be some kind of dream and he will wake up in his bed to find that he, once again, fell asleep in the midst of a panic attack and created this whole scenario to cope.

 

"Of course he knows, we don't hide anything to each other," Minseok confirms, seemingly oblivious to Jongdae's inner thoughts. He resumes kissing Jongdae, but stops after a moment when the latter doesn't respond to his advances. "Jongdae?"

 

"I just need a moment," Jongdae lets out in a breathy voice. He takes a deep breath, counting down from five to exhale all the air trapped in his lungs. He does this a couple of time, until his breathing gets under control. With his eyes close, he can't see how close Minseok is, which helps keep the panic at bay. "I'm sorry, this is very overwhelming."

 

Minseok's weight disappears from his lap, replaced by the less offensive warmth of his palm. "Had I known you would've reacted like this, I would've confessed in a better way," Minseok says softly. He sounds guilty and sad, which isn't what Jongdae wants at all.

 

"Don't worry, it's not your fault." Jongdae slowly opens his eyes. The terrible feeling of walls closing in on him is dissipating. The worry in Minseok's eyes is obvious and Jongdae shoots him a small, hopefully reassuring, smile. "I just.. didn't expect any of this."

 

"This is why you have to talk about stuff like that," Minseok reminds him. His fingers are still stroking indescribable patterns on the skin of Jongdae's thigh. It grounds him, anchors him in the present. "If not, you get into your head and start imagining all kinds of scenarios."

 

A small chuckle escapes Jongdae's mouth. Isn't that the perfect description of his entire life? "So where do we got from here?" he asks, to keep the conversation going. He doesn't want to dwell on his feelings right now, because Jongdae knows it's only going to send him into another panic attack. He'd rather figure things out with Minseok first, then panic later.

 

"The best thing we could do is just date and see where this goes," Minseok answers simply. Jongdae would agree if there weren't a third person in the equation. "If you don't mind about Baekhyun then Baekhyun won't mind about you."

 

Minseok sounds convinced, sign that they already did this before. It reassures Jongdae a little bit. Nonetheless, he's in too deep to go back now. Jongdae has a shot at love, at easing the loneliness tainting his life since the almost beginning and he would be stupid to not take it. Dating Minseok will also, maybe, help him make sense of his feelings for Baekhyun, too.

 

"Okay," Jongdae agrees, voice soft and barely audible. However, Minseok has been paying attention to every word that leaves his mouth and understood everything. He smiles, one of those big and happy smiles that show off his gums and makes Jongdae's heart skip a beat.

 

"Don't worry, we'll figure it out," Minseok says and the words act as a warning before he dives in to kiss Jongdae again.

 

This time, the kiss is slower, deeper and more intimate. It speaks not only of lust but of a feeling deeply rooted in admiration and affection. There's fondness in the swipe of Minseok's tongue against Jongdae's lower lip. There's likeness in Jongdae's little kitten licks in Minseok's mouth. Time seems to slow down to a complete stop, bringing them into a world where nothing exists except each other. For once, Jongdae doesn't feel the burning passion that usually consumes him when he's near Minseok. He could stay here forever, just quietly making out without any desire to pick things up or get off.

 

Obviously, every good thing has to end. It's Minseok that stops their slow make-out session with a low "we should probably get some sleep." Jongdae wants to retort that it doesn't really matter if they sleep or not, there's not even a night and a day in space. They have nothing to do except wait the time away until they reach Pau. But the mature part of himself tells him that Minseok is right. Jongdae has been up for close to twenty hours now, between performing basic tasks like bathing and eating and dealing with mini panic attacks, and he could really use some sleep.

 

It's hands in hands that they fall in Jongdae's bed. They might both be small but Minseok is broad, shoulders almost as wide as the bed. It becomes quickly evident that they will have to cuddle and contort like pretzels if they want to make this work. Fortunately, Minseok and Jongdae seem completely determined. They finally settle with Jongdae half laying on Minseok, head pillowed by his shoulder. Their legs are intertwined so much that Jongdae isn't sure where Minseok ends and where he starts. It's not the most comfortable position he has ever been in but he can't bring himself to move. He's afraid that if he does, this beautifully crafted creation of his mind will all fall to pieces.

 

"Go to sleep, Jongdae," Minseok urges him, mouth buried in his hair. From his place on Minseok's chest, Jongdae can hear the steady beating of his heart. It's ultimately that comforting rhythm that lulls him to sleep.

 

"Thank you," Jongdae mumurs as he falls asleep. He's not totally sure why he's taking Minseok. For giving him a chance maybe or for not freaking out at his confession. Or maybe, probably, only for being there to chase the loneliness away.

 

 

 

 

 

It's not that Jongdae didn't believe Minseok when he said that Baekhyun would have no problem with them dating. In fact, it all seemed pretty plausible and realistic, especially with the recent revelations they told him about their relationship. It's just that Jongdae didn't expect that kind of reaction from Baekhyun.

 

When they get out of Jongdae's room after a couple of hours of sleep, Baekhyun is waiting for them in the kitchen. He's seated in the middle of all the new appliances intended for the Serenian ship, sipping on a cup of hot cocoa, courtesy of Jongin's pantry. When he sees them come in, hair a sleepy mess, still hands in hands, Baekhyun smiles and claps.

 

"Was about time," he says, taking a big sip of his drink. Obviously, because Baekhyun is an impatient and impulsive person, he burns his tongue. Jongdae laughs and shakes his head as Baekhyun stucks his tongue out like an overexerted puppy.

 

Minseok tugs on Jongdae's hand until he's in front of a kitchen chair. He pushes Jongdae to sit while he turns towards the stove, gathering ingredients to make moon pancakes on the way. Jongdae's already salivating at the idea.

 

"So you're together, now? Finally made up your mind?" Baekhyun asks once he has feelings back in his tongue. He's more careful now with his sips.

 

Jongdae smiles and nods. "I can't believe he told you about this. I literally spent all week freaking out about the possibility of you finding out about our fling."

 

Baekhyun laughs so hard he almost knocks his cup off the table. Minseok makes a disgruntled noise as he repositions it so it's not so close to the edge anymore. "So that was the face you were making! I thought you had a really bad case of diarrhea."

 

Jongdae lets out a screech of embarrassment, burying his face in his hands. It obvious entertains Baekhyun who laughs, again. His laugh is loud and assumed. It makes Baekhyun look childish, covering all his hard lines with mirth and positivism. It's insane to Jongdae how much duality there is in this human.

 

"Are you sure you're really okay with this arrangement?" Jongdae asks him, only to be completely sure. It still feels totally surreal how great things are going and Jongdae can't help but think that something has to go wrong one day. It can't be all sunshine and rainbows.

 

"As long as you don't start fucking in my face, I don't think I'll have a problem with anything you'll do," Baekhyun answers in typical Baekhyun-fashion, all smirks and vulgarity.

 

Minseok sighs from behind Jongdae, as if totally giving up on trying to make his boyfriend socially acceptable. "Thank you for this beautifully worded blessing, Baekhyun," he says sarcastically.

 

Baekhyun beams at him, eyes turning into crescent full of mischief. "You are so very welcomed, honey. Now, if you'll excuse me, I still have a ship to pilot."

 

He leaves them on that, unceremoniously gathering his hot cocoa and a plate full of steaming moon pancakes. Minseok tries to stop him, claiming he'll put crumbs everywhere in the cockpit and that he should eat in the kitchen. Baekhyun doesn't listen and leaves with a flying kiss directed to his boyfriend.

 

"That went pretty well," Jongdae says, munching on his own ratio of moon pancakes. Minseok hums, his face screaming "I told you so." Jongdae has to admit that he was totally right about Baekhyun's reaction.

 

"You guys really know each other well." Jongdae hopes his tone comes out casual enough. He doesn't want Minseok to believe him to be jealous or anything of that sort, not that early in their relationship. He doesn't think jealous is the good term. Jongdae longs for the type of connection Baekhyun and Minseok have, the knowledge that someone out there knows you, cherishes you and has your back, always. It's something he's never had.

 

"We've been through all the highs and the lows together," Minseok says simply. "It obviously creates ties close to unbreakable. You don't have anything to worry about, though. I chose to be with you, too."

 

Jongdae blushes at how transparent he has been with his question. Under the embarrassment, though, there is immense relief. It's a little bit scary how Minseok can read him so easily, know exactly what he's thinking and alleviate all his fears. Jongdae is already comfortable with Minseok and they've been dating for less than a day. It's dangerous territory, which would usually send Jongdae in a mild panic attack. Minseok's presence calms his nerves and for that, he never wants to let go.

 

He'll worry about Baekhyun later.

 

 

 

 

 

Dating Minseok is amazing. It means home-cooked meal at every hour of the day, long cuddling sessions under the covers and mind-blowing sex. It also means long conversations around nicely brewed Kantapia tea and unconditional support. In the week that follows, under Minseok's benevolence, Jongdae blossoms. His panic attacks are less frequent and of lesser intensity. Minseok has a third sense when it comes to these things, always around the corner whenever Jongdae feels like things are spinning out of control. Jongdae is slowly learning to trust himself again and it feels good. Great even.

 

For the first time since his father's death, Jongdae can confidently say that he's happy. There's only one grey area in the picture: Baekhyun.

 

True to his words, Baekhyun doesn't show any annoyance at Jongdae's relationship with Minseok. Like usual, he spends most of his time in the cockpit, piloting through asteroids and comets and all those space stuffs Jongdae hates. Minseok still sees Baekhyun quite often, retreating in the cockpit for some alone time with his boyfriend. Jongdae tries to not think about what they're doing in there, mainly because he'll spend a lot of time in that room once they deliver the ship and go their separate ways.

 

In surface, everything seems good. It's the underlining story line that bothers Jongdae. In his mind, open relationships work when you don't have to spend every waking moment with your boyfriend's boyfriend. If they were normal beings not trapped in a ranger ship, if Jongdae could frequent Minseok without Baekhyun around, then there would be no problem. In their current state of affairs, thought, Jongdae can't help but think that their situation resembles more a threesome than an open relationship.

 

Once that thought is planted in Jongdae's mind, he can't think of anything else. Suddenly, his head is filled with images of Baekhyun and Minseok double-tagging him, keeping him choking on dicks. It fuels an arousal so powerful his legs give out and he finds himself sitting in the tub instead of standing in the shower. The fact that Jongdae has been attracted to Baekhyun for weeks doesn't help to make the thoughts disappear. In fact, it only makes them more and more realistic.

 

Jongdae has had these thoughts of threesome since well before Minseok asked him out. There's nothing new about them, which explains the lack of panic in the ranger. What's new is Baekhyun.

 

Before Jongdae dated Minseok, Baekhyun never really talked to him. He teased him, of course, because it's what Baekhyun does best, but he never sat down and talked. In fact, the human has spent the better part of their companionship pretending Jongdae was insignificant and not worth his time. Now that he can't ignore Jongdae's presence, Baekhyun has conversations with him that go beyond jokes and greetings.

 

As Jongdae expected, Baekhyun isn't one to share about his personal experiences. He dodges all attempts at furthering the conversations towards his time in prison or his career as a smuggler. He, however, doesn't hesitate one bit to talk about ships or the universe or basically anything that doesn't hold any weight in figuring him out. Jongdae swallows the disappointment really quickly, fast to be roped in the charisma Baekhyun exudes.

 

The more time he spends with Baekhyun, the more Jongdae understands him. In retrospect, Baekhyun is quite easy to read. He acts all tough (which he is, Jongdae has seen it more than once), acts like nothing can touch him, but it's all it is, an act. Baekhyun is snarky and abrasive, teasing to the point of hurting, pulling the elastic so far it breaks, but he does all that for a simple reason: to keep people out. It's so clear, so obvious that Jongdae almost starts laughing right there when he realizes it.

 

It's laughable because it doesn't work. In the end of the day, Baekhyun cares. Maybe not for Jongdae, even if he did tone down the mean comments and picks at Jongdae's personality. But he cares for Minseok. Jongdae remembers the incident on Vasenta and how Baekhyun looked terrified at Minseok's disappearance. All of Baekhyun's previous actions come into mind, how he always makes sure to keep Minseok in his line of sight, even when he's doing his little show of confidence and rebellion. How he insists in piloting, just to be able to blame himself if something goes wrong. How he tries so hard to look untouchable and independent, like the bad guys in the story that do everything alone because they don't trust anyone. Baekhyun isn't a bad guy, though. He's the good guy whose heart got broken and stepped on so much it doesn't work well anymore.

 

Jongdae kind of wants to be the one to mend the cracks of Baekhyun's broken heart, the one to pour gold in the cracks and fill them so Baekhyun can feel whole again.

 

Once Jongdae has acknowledge his feelings, his outlook on situations completely changes. He's back to being a ranger again, analyzing everything that goes on in the ship, trying to draw similarities and convince himself that maybe Baekhyun does feel something for him. Maybe not at the intensity that he feels for Minseok but something, anything. It becomes an obsession, because it's the only way Jongdae can deal with his feelings without sending himself in a panic attack.

 

When Minseok exist the kitchen to go and "check up" on Baekhyun (which is totally a code name for make out and fuck), Jongdae follows him, light on his feet as to not be found out. He notes how Baekhyun acts around Minseok, the coy bite on his lips and his soft smiles. He listens to their conversations as best as he can, not really making out their words but recording their body language and the tone of their voices. He comes to the conclusion that while Baekhyun is being friendlier to him, his reactions are nothing like the one he has with Minseok around.

 

Jongdae comes out of his investigation with a disappointed heart but a sense of accomplishment. Somehow, going back to his ranger's roots has helped him find himself back a little bit. He feels lighter, panic pushed back to the pit of his stomach. It also has the merit of making time pass faster. Jongdae hasn't noticed, too caught up in his quest, but two weeks has already passed and they are closer to Pau than ever. According to Baekhyun, they might even reach the far away planet in less than three days.

 

"It's going to be nice to finally be able to walk," Minseok sighs in Jongdae's hair. They're tangled in Jongdae's sheets, coming down from the passion of their orgasms. Jongdae shifts to be able to peer up at Minseok and winces at the cooling cum trailing down his thighs.

 

"Do we risk being attacked again? Like on Vasenta?" Jongdae asks. He's never been in Pau, never been in this galaxy in fact, but, from what he gathered, the planet isn't one of the most touristic. It's home to the smugglers, the exiles, the people that want to escape the claws of the government. It doesn't inspire confidence.

 

"I would like to say no, but who knows? Joonmyun has men everywhere. It's partly why he's so powerful and so feared." Minseok reaches down to run his fingers in Jongdae's short hair, scrapping at his scalp in a soothing manner. "But Kyungsoo isn't nobody neither. I would be surprised if someone tried something while we're with him."

 

"You know, you never told me the story of why you even got Kim Joonmyun's ship in the first place," Jongdae muses. It's incredible that he didn't think of asking either Minseok or Baekhyun about it before. It should've been one of the first questions to come to mind, but Jongdae had been busy trying to stay alive.

 

Minseok chuckles, as if the memory is funny instead of life-threatening. "It's actually pretty stupid. We were on Serena, for a relatively normal contract, but our ship broke. Literally exploded in pieces. We were in a hurry to leave the planet so we stole the first ship we saw and took off. Turns out it was Kim Joonmyun's ship. Can you believe our luck?"

 

Jongdae lets out a laugh of disbelief. This all feels really anticlimactic, but, for some reasons, it totally makes sense. Baekhyun and Minseok might lead a dangerous life, but they're no protagonists in a storybook. They're normal smugglers, trying to make a living like they can.

 

"I don't really regret it," Minseok adds. Jongdae can feel the weight of his eyes on the back of his head but he refuses to look up. "I wouldn't have met you if it didn't happen."

 

Jongdae blushes. It's incredibly cheesy, almost too cheesy for Jongdae to be flattered, but it also echoes his own sentiments. Jongdae doesn't think he's felt as alive as he has in the last couple of weeks. It has nothing to do with the adrenaline of escaping bullets and dodging murder attempts. It has nothing to do with exploring the universe, discovering new planets and new horizons.

 

No, in fact, it has all to do with these. It's a combination of novelty, of danger and of companionship. Jongdae, as a ranger, has had his fair share of dangerous endeavors and of exploration. But he has always gone through them alone. Now, he has someone to share these experiences with, someone who understands because they've been there. They've lived them together. He has someone to share his worries and his fears, someone to share his joys and successes. He can turn around and crack a joke and hear laughter.

 

Minseok's and Baekhyun's presence in Jongdae's life is healing wounds he never even knew he had.

 

"Thank you," Jongdae says. It comes out as a whisper, barely audible. Minseok says nothing, but tightens his grip around Jongdae's body. Comfort flares through Jongdae's veins, comfort and acceptance and he smiles. They have to be the best feelings in the whole universe.

 

 

 

 

 

"Welcome to Pau!" Baekhyun screams, way too loud of the small cockpit of Jongdae's ship. They just landed on the planet's surface, after close to a month of flying. Jongdae cannot wait to finally get out and explore.

 

Pau isn't anything like Jongdae expected. Somehow he imagined it being like Vasenta, dark and spooky, full of warehouses and dangerous-looking alleys. It isn't. The first thing Jongdae notices are the colors. They're everywhere. Bright green grass surrounds the ship, the blades high enough to reach above Jongdae's ankles.There are trees and plants all around them, in all colors and shapes. At his right, Jongdae can see a glistening blue weeping willow. On his left, rows and rows of baby pink bushes follow a small stream of clear water. From his point of view, Jongdae thinks he can make out some multicolored fishes swimming leisurely in the water. Dirt roads a warm shade of brown lead his eyes up towards a colorful forest, probably leading to a city or village.

 

"This is beautiful," Jongdae says in a soft voice, in complete awe. There's color everywhere, bright colors and subdued colors and pastel colors, all fighting for his attention. Still, it doesn't deter his enthusiasm, doesn't induce a headache. It makes Jongdae feels like he just landed in a fairy tale.

 

"It is, isn't it?" Minseok responds. He stops right besides Jongdae, close enough for him to feel the warmth of his body, even with the powerful sun shining on them. "Kyungsoo fell in love with the magic of this place."

 

Jongdae can't stop looking around, can't help but feel like there's too much to see for his poor little eyes. He knows they don't really have time to explore, so he makes a mental note to come back here, maybe for his next vacation. Baekhyun finally climbs down the ship, autotranslator mask on his face and black catsuit traded for a white one, to fight off the burning sun.

 

As Jongdae expected, they follow the dirt road to the forest. The trees' branches, mostly blue and turquoise, act as a screen, creating welcomed shadows. It's cool in the forest, without the sun hitting the earth and Jongdae only realizes now that it's humid and hot on Pau. There's already sweat collecting on his forehead and at the base of his neck.

 

"Look, a jeelo!" Minseok exclaims, enthusiastically pointing in front of him. Jongdae turns his head in an instant, fast enough to catch a small animal running through the bushes and soil plants. It looks like a squirrel with a big fluffy tail and small little legs, all yellow with golden highlights.

 

"I wish I could have a jeelo as a pet," Minseok sighs. "They're so cute and fluffy."

 

"And they would destroy everything in the ship," Baekhyun adds with a cheeky smile. "They're known for their need of big spaces, you know that."

 

Minseok sighs again, looking really bummed about the impossibility of his wish. It makes Jongdae smile because it totally is Minseok's type to want a pet. Minseok pouts, making Jongdae want to reach and pinch his cheeks. This man is really too cute for his age.

 

Their journey through through the forest is punctuated by Minseok pointing at every jeelos they cross roads with (and there are a lot of them) and by Jongdae tripping over his feet every two seconds. It's embarrassing and Baekhyun doesn't miss the opportunity to laugh at him and tease, but Jongdae can't keep his eyes away from the scenery. Everything is just so beautiful, from the colorful plants to the fearless animals eating close enough for Jongdae to be able to smell them. For the most part, he has no idea which species they are, but he refuses to break the quiet of the forest to ask Minseok or Baekhyun. The forest is peaceful and Jongdae doesn't want to be the one to break that peace.

 

After around a half-hour walk, the trees finally clear, letting Jongdae see the city he has tipped the existence. As the rest of the planet, it's beautiful and colorful. As on Vasenta and Kasaltos, there are children running around the streets, chasing each other with squeals of laughter.  However, the mood is the total opposite than Vasenta's. While Vasenta was gloomy and haunted, children running in rags and trying to steal food without being caught, on Pau, they're playing. There are street vendors at every corner, selling fragrant foods and shiny gems. The roads are occupied by small bicycle-type transportation system, with big trunks where people can stand to get a ride. The city is lively, buildings in tan shades of yellow and oranges.

 

The sun is merciless, beating down on the city with reckless intensity but the population is well-equipped against it. They don't have thick shells like the Krylos, but then again, they're not living on a burning sun. Their skin is dark, but the extremities of their bodies are burning red and shining lightly.

 

"Their skin absorbs the heat of the sun and uses it to cool their body down," Minseok explains when he notices Jongdae's curiosity. "Pretty nifty."

 

The resident of Pau also don't wear a lot of clothes, only small loin clothes covering their private parts. They are tall and thin, easily two to three times Jongdae's height, which could've been threatening if they didn't look as friendly and peaceful. The more time Jongdae spends on Pau, the more he can see why someone would want to stay here forever.

 

"Kyungsoo's house is down the road," Baekhyun says, pointing to his right. The road takes them away from the business of the center of the city and to a more residential area. In here, the houses have different pastel colors, clearly chosen by the owners. They all have their own charm and aesthetics, which appeals to Jongdae. It gives a nice cachet to the planet.

 

They stop in front of the only non-pastel house, painted a dark shade of emerald green. It contrasts greatly with the neighborhood but, with what Jongdae gathered from Kyungsoo, it makes sense. He doesn't seem like the type that would love to live in a pastel yellow house.

 

"Oh, you're not dead," is the first words Kyungsoo utters as he opens the door to find Baekhyun on his doorstep. "That's a disappointment."

 

Baekhyun scowls and Jongdae does everything he can to swallow his laughter. The man in front of him is small, barely reaching to his shoulders. He has big eyes, hidden by thick round glasses. Jongdae can't say which species he belongs to, because he has no distinct features. He might have a little bit of Krylos blood, because his skin is on the red side, but that might be exhaustion or sun burns. It doesn't really matter to Jongdae though, because anyone that can out-sass Baekhyun is a good person.

 

"Please, please come in," Kyungsoo ushers them in his home, closing and locking the door behind him. "It's too damn hot outside."

 

"It's always this hot, Soo," Baekhyun butts in. He's taking his shoes off, which Jongdae hurries to do too. The interior of Kyungsoo's home is spotless, things so clean they basically sparkles. "If you hate the heat so much, you should've chosen another planet."

 

Kyungsoo rolls his eyes but doesn't even bother responding to Baekhyun. His eyes zero in on Jongdae and he frowns. "Who are you?" he asks, voice hardening. In a second, he's reaching for a blade hidden underneath his clothes.

 

Jongdae raises his hands in the air. "I'm Kim Jongdae, I work with Minseok and Baekhyun?" It comes out as a question more than an affirmation, because Jongdae is scared and doesn't know if it’s the right answer to give. Kyungsoo might be small but he's downright terrifying, looking like he could cut someone in tiny pieces and cook a stew with them without even battling an eyelash.

 

Kyungsoo doesn't seem convinced. He doesn't let go of his knife, but turns his gaze towards Minseok, as if to assess the veracity of Jongdae's saying. Minseok nods, looping an arm around Jongdae's waist. His presence immediately calms the anxiety brewing in Jongdae's stomach. Kyungsoo follows the movement and frowns, but finally drops his weapon. "Alright. What do you want?"

 

"Always so straight to the point," Baekhyun sighs. During the time Jongdae was blatantly threatened, he took the time to raid Kyungsoo's fridge. He's now seated on the counter, legs balancing, sucking on a frozen treat. Kyungsoo goes up to him to roughly push him off the counter.

 

"Always so rude and disgusting," Kyungsoo states.

 

Baekhyun whines, rubbing his left ass cheek to dull the pain. "Don't even try to look all though and mighty in front of Jongdae, he already knows you have a big heart and that you love me."

 

At that, Kyungsoo rolls his eyes again and Jongdae can't hold back a chuckle. Kyungsoo has to be the first person he's meeting that isn't wrapped around Baekhyun's finger. "Love is a strong word, Byun," Kyungsoo reminds him and Baekhyun only smiles sweetly.

 

"Minseok, why are you here? Not that I don't like seeing you but I'm a busy man and I don't have time to deal with the trouble you're bringing," Kyungsoo says with no emotion in his voice. It seems insensitive, especially since Baekhyun and Minseok don't seem like they've been visiting often. However, neither of them look offended. If anything, Kyungsoo's reaction has been expected.

 

"We need the electronics Chanyeol sold you," Baekhyun answers instead of his boyfriend, which prompts another one of Kyungsoo's famous glare. "The Serenian ones."

 

"Is that so?" Kyungsoo muses. He's walking away from them, towards the back of the house. Baekhyun jumps to his feet to follow and Jongdae does the same. They pass by all the bedrooms and bathrooms, reaching a big hangar filled with of technological stuff. Jongdae hasn't seen so much motors and computers and radars in the same place since he left the ranger's facility's stockroom.

 

"You're lucky I haven't sold it yet," Kyungsoo calls over his shoulders. In contrary to Jongin, who's also a hoarder, Kyungsoo's hoard is organized and categorized by use and style and probably date of fabrication. He finds what they are looking for in a second, gesturing to unplugged but brand new-looking Serenian pieces of technology. Jongdae can see multiple radars in there, a whole control system and some weapon-based computer. There's not much, definitely not as much as he expected, which is a good thing. They don't have a lot of space left in the ship and they still have to fly half-away across the galaxy back on Kasaltos to get the shell of Joonmyun's ship.

 

"When Chanyeol contacted me about some Serenian stuff, I had a feeling you were in trouble," Kyungsoo says as if it's an evidence. It makes Jongdae wonder how many times a situation like the one Minseok and Baekhyun are in actually happened. "I decided I would keep them and wait a little bit before doing anything with them."

 

"And you try to make us believe you don't care," Baekhyun teases, coming to wrap his arm around Kyungsoo's shoulders. Without blinking, Kyungsoo elbows him in the ribs, making him groan. "That's so mean!"

 

"You smell like shit, Byun, do you even shower?" Kyungsoo retorts with a pinch expression on his face. Jongdae and Minseok can't help but laugh at Baekhyun's red face. He tries to splutter some explanations about how he can't leave the cockpit but Kyungsoo doesn't want to hear it.

 

"I guess you understand that we don't have anything to pay or replace this stuff with," Minseok cuts short to their budding argument by bringing the conversation back to their subject on hand. "We're kind of low on absolutely everything right now."

 

"Except furniture," Jongdae butts in with a smile. It makes Baekhyun laugh, which is a pleasant surprise. Usually, Baekhyun only teases Jongdae for his poor choices of jokes, but he finally was able to pull a laugh from him. The happiness he feels is disproportionate but he doesn't care. Pau erases all his worries and he feels at ease.

 

"Let's agree that once you're done with this Kim Joonmyun situation, you'll deliver some packages for me," Kyungsoo finally decides after a moment of contemplation.

 

To Jongdae, it seems like a good compromise. After all, it isn't like Baekhyun and Minseok will retreat to an exotic planet like Pau to relax and grow old together. They'll be roaming the universe and causing trouble either way. Better make themselves useful. When the agreement is reached and sealed with a contract, because Kyungsoo doesn't trust anyone, not even his closest friends, Kyungsoo orders two helpers whom Jongdae didn't even noticed before to gather all the technology and load their ship with it.

 

"I need you to deliver something to the other side of the city," Kyungsoo announces as they are retreating back to the main house. He gestures to a small package waiting on the kitchen counter, small enough to fit in Jongdae's palm. "The address is written on it. It's a pretty big building, I don't think you'll miss it."

 

"But the ship?" Jongdae asks in confusion. Baekhyun shakes his head with a small smile when Kyungsoo glares at him like he's stupid.

 

"Give time to my boys to load your Serenian crap before taking off," Kyungsoo mutters angrily and Jongdae swallows audibly.

 

Minseok hurries to agree, grabbing the package and, in the same movement, Jongdae's wrist to tug him towards the door. Baekhyun is hot on their heels and, in a matter of second, they are out of Kyungsoo's home with a promise to come back soon and fulfill their part of the bargain.

 

"He's so fucking scary," Jongdae lets out once they are out of ear-shot.

 

Baekhyun barks out a laugh at that, laughing so hard he almost cries. "Kyungsoo is downright terrifying," he says between peels of laughter. "He's so tiny but contains so much anger, it's kind of depressing to see."

 

"He would kill you if he heard," Minseok warns Baekhyun with a shake of his head. "Let's go deliver this and leave this place. I can't wait to be done with Kim Joonmyun."

 

There's nothing Jongdae or Baekhyun can say to refute that affirmation. They hit the road, going back towards the center of the city. Jongdae doesn't know how much time they have spent in Kyungsoo's home, doesn't feel like it's been a lot, but the atmosphere has already changed. The sun is lower in the sky, casting an orange glow to the buildings surrounding them. While the mood was lively when they first arrived, it's now mellow and smooth, almost romantic. There are no children running around, all of them back in their homes for supper and bedtime stories. Most of the stalls are empty, vendors packing their merchandise to sell another day.

 

However, it doesn't mean the center of the city is empty. In fact, it's still pretty full with people leaving work and making the commute back home. There are also couples everywhere, sharing ice cream and hitting restaurants for a date. It's so strange to Jongdae to be surrounded by this kind of normality, because it's something he hasn't had in a long time, even before he enrolled in the rangers. It's soothing, like Minseok's grip on his wrist that hasn't disappear since they left Kyungsoo's.

 

They look out of place, dressed in dirty clothes and armed to the teeth, but nobody bats an eyelash at them. An old lady waves them over when they pass by her stall, offering them free samples of something sweet and syrupy that melts on Jongdae's tongue like hot butter. It's delicious and he turns to Minseok with pleading eyes. Baekhyun does the same, hands clasped in front of his face. Minseok sighs but agrees, reaching in his pocket for a bill of international currency to buy for three servings of whatever she's selling.

 

They go back on the road, hands full of sweetly goodness and Jongdae can't help but feels like he's on a date. It isn't the case, obviously, but the atmosphere and the sharing treats and holding hands and soft looks they exchange only enhance the feeling. Jongdae almost forgets they're on a mission until Minseok stops them in front of a gigantic garage.

 

"It's here," Minseok says as he double-checks the address on the package. Jongdae uses this time to observe the garage, noting where the exits and windows are, how many people are in there. From the corner of his eye, he can see Baekhyun doing the same. "Let's get this over with."

 

The door of the garage is open, letting fumes of chemical soaps waft through the air. The smell is pungent, making Jongdae reach to tug the collar of his shirt over his nose and try to lessen its effect. All the lights are off in the building, which seems really odd to Jongdae because the smell is too strong to be a remain of earlier activities. The air is stale and time seems to stop when they enter the garage. The atmosphere makes Jongdae's hair raise on his arms and he reaches for his thermogun, unclasping it from his belt. The reflex saves his life because at the moment he settles his grip on the trigger, an explosion irrupts, sending them all on the floor. Flames lick the ceiling and make the air ten times hotter.

 

"What the fuck?" Baekhyun screams as he scrambles to his feet.

 

Smoke quickly fills the room, making it impossible to see anything. Jongdae gets up, thermogun pointed in front of him. There's a movement to his right and he shoots without hesitating. His heat wave hits the target straight in the chest, making them fall on the floor. Jongdae doesn't wait a moment, shooting up to their head. They flop on their side, lifeless.

 

"We need to get out of here," Minseok calls out from somewhere in the smoke. Jongdae nods, even if he knows his boyfriend can't see him. They've clearly been framed and the only thing they can do now is flee. They're probably outnumbered and it would be suicidal to stay and fight.

 

Jongdae spins on his heels, going back from where they entered. Or, at least, he thinks that's where he's going. The smoke is black and thick, making it hard to see or breathe. Jongdae drops to his knees and crawls on the floor, where the smoke isn't as heavy. It turns out to be a good move because from where he's lying, he can see the feet of the enemies going and coming. They don't look like they've noticed his presence yet so he stays silent, slowly making his way towards the light of the sun. From above his head, he can hear all kinds of detonation, from fire balls to solar guns and it makes him worry for his friends. Jongdae knows they can hold their own in a fight with no problems, but it still doesn't ease his heart.

 

Jongdae shakes his head to clear his thoughts. One of the most important rules he learned as a ranger is to focus on himself. It's when one cares about other people that they make deadly mistakes. Jongdae's hands are hurting and his knees are sore by the time he reaches the entrance, but he makes it. Now comes the difficult part. If he stands up, he's automatically going to attract attention to himself. If he crawls, he's going to put himself in a vulnerable position, without possibilities of dodging bullets or grenades thrown at him. Jongdae makes the split-second decision to run.

 

Jongdae jumps to his feet, blindly shooting behind him to cover his tracks as he runs through the door and out on the street. There's no one around, the road completely deserted. Jongdae considers waiting for Baekhyun and Minseok but he isn't sure if they're in the garage or if they already escaped. He keeps running, hiding behind dumpsters and doorways at every chance he gets. The bullets are following him, which means he has been spotted. He risks a look back to assess the situation.

 

There are three black hooded silhouette in front of the garage, menacing solar guns in hands. Jongdae immediately recognizes them from the run-in they had on Vasenta and he curses. Those guys are Kim Joonmyun's mercenaries and they are ruthless. Jongdae takes a deep breath and runs.

 

A rain of bullets hits him, little ball of solar energy that explodes at the smallest contact. Jongdae tries to avoid them the best he can, running in zigzag to try and distract the shooters. It works, for the most part, until he hits the center of the city. There is people again, completely clueless to what is going on. Jongdae doesn't slow down, diving in the crowd in hopes of his pursuers loosing his trace. He dunks under a couple kissing, jumps over some kind of meat stall to take a shortcut. Jongdae remembers where they left the ship, remembers the way to go. He knows he has to put as much distance as possible between him and the mercenaries before he reaches the forest because in there, it's going to be a free for all.

 

Jongdae is quickly out of breath, his cardio having taken a toll after the complete dismantling of their training room back on the ship. The adrenaline is carrying him, the fear for his life helping him ignore the burning of his calves and the pain in his knees. Jongdae jumps just in time to avoid running straight into a couple. They both turn to glare at him but Jongdae is already gone. He looks around, trying to spot Minseok or Baekhyun but he sees nothing out of the ordinary. The only one that sticks out like a thumb is him.

 

When Jongdae reaches the forest, he almost can't walk anymore. His lungs are trying their hardest but it doesn't seem like they're able to hold enough air. He's panting hard, but nothing he does can clear his head from the black dots clouding his vision. He hides behind a tree, back to the bark, fearing he's going to pass out. Jongdae knows he can't, knows he has to push himself to the limit. If he gives up now, it means death.

 

Jongdae takes a deep breath, readjusting his grip on his thermogun. His palm is moist and lightly trembling but he has a good enough aim to palliate his momentary shortcomings. He shoots behind him and a grunt answers. Jongdae jumps, surprised and looks behind to see a man falling on his knees. Jongdae quickly has to duck back behind the tree as a solar bullet hits right where he was standing. The soil explodes under the impact, projecting him in the air. He falls hard on his right arm, a terrible crack resonating in the forest. Jongdae's scream of pain is quick to follow.

 

His arm is broken. His shooting arm is broken. The pain is flooding in Jongdae's mind, going from his forearm where the break happened to his shoulder and even up to his neck. Jongdae knows he has to keep going, but it's almost like his body has given up on him. He tries to force his legs to work, to lift him up. He needs to at least retrieve his weapon, just to have a chance, but he can't move.

 

Suddenly, two hands grab Jongdae's shoulders and haul him to his feet. It pulls another shout of pain from Jongdae's mouth, which is quickly smothered by a palm. Jongdae opens his eyes to see Baekhyun in front of him. His autotranslator mask his missing and there's blood on his face, courtesy of a big cut right above his left eyebrow.

 

"We need to move," Baekhyun whispers, low enough that Jongdae has to read the words on his lips. Baekhyun hands him his thermogun, sensibly putting it in his left hand instead of his right.

 

They slowly start walking, making sure to keep themselves covered by the bushes and the trees. It doesn't help that the forest is as colorful as it is, because it makes it harder to blend into. There's no way Jongdae, with his dark blue clothes can hide in a sea of pastel pink plants. Baekhyun gradually picks up the pace once footsteps are heard not too far away and Jongdae does his best to follow. The pain is starting to numb down, controlled by his brain and it's becoming easier to run. Baekhyun senses it and starts jogging.

 

Their harsh movements don't go unnoticed. There's a loud shout and a grenade explodes a couple of feet away. Baekhyun jumps, tackling Jongdae to the ground to avoid the pieces of trees flying everywhere around them.

 

"Run, run!" Baekhyun screams at him, pushing him on his feet. Jongdae doesn't need to be told twice. He sprints away, Baekhyun hot on his heels. He stops from time to time to throw his metal rope behind, using it like a whip to hit and hurt their pursuers. Jongdae has no idea if it's working or not but, at this point, he doesn't care. As long as they reach the ship, they'll be fine.

 

Jongdae can see the ship from behind the trees when it happens. He turns around to tell Baekhyun they made it but his eyes catch the bullet that is coming straight for him. It's close, too close for him to be able to duck out of the way. He sees it coming closer, when something hard rams into his side and pushes him out of the way.

 

"Run," Baekhyun says to him, eyes locked together before the bullet hits Baekhyun's collarbones and explodes. Jongdae watches in horror as Baekhyun falls to the ground, immobile. For an eternal second, Jongdae cannot move. There's blood pouring down Baekhyun's front, his catsuit totally tore open. His eyes are close, almost as if he's dead.

 

The thought is what kick starts Jongdae into action. He jumps over Baekhyun's body in search of a breath or a pulse. He finds both, which seems totally impossible after what just happened, but he doesn't take the time to analyze it. Jongdae crouches down and, with probably not enough care for Baekhyun's extensive injuries, hauls Baekhyun on his back. He's heavy, way heavier than Jongdae thought but he perseveres. Baekhyun just saved his life, he can't abandon him there to die on his own.

 

Bullets are raining all around him, explosion making the ground tremble beneath his feet. Jongdae runs as fast as he can, holding Baekhyun on his back with his good arm. He doesn't have any weapon on him, but it doesn't matter. He's close enough to the ship and the mercenaries are still far away. He can do this, he has to do this.

 

Minseok is waiting for him on the boarding ramp, gigantic firewaves gun in his hands. As soon as Jongdae emerges from the forest, he stars firing with reckless abandon. The bullets shoot out by dozens, literally putting the whole forest on fire. It pains Jongdae to see this beautiful scenery burst in flames, but there's nothing he can do. Right now, anyway, the only thing he wants is to reach the ship and get the fuck away from this planet.

 

"Pull us up, pull us up!" Jongdae screams with total desperation in his voice. His body is wracked with spasms and he fears he's going to drop Baekhyun at any moment now. He can't feel his left arm, he feels his right one too much.

 

Fortunately, Minseok is quick to react. He transfers Baekhyun on his own back, grabbing Jongdae by the arm to literally drag him up the ramp and down in the ship. Jongdae manages to hit the close button as he passes by, making the ramp slowly retreating up in the ship. From beyond the flames, Jongdae can see the mercenaries trying to find a way to get to them but they won't. It's over. Minseok is already in the cockpit, taking off and taking them away from the heat of the confrontation. Finally, the ramp totally closes and Jongdae lets out a heavy sigh.

 

The pain comes back in tenfold once the adrenaline starts wearing off. It's that that brings Jongdae back to the situation at hand. He pushes to his knees and crawls, extremely slowly, to where Baekhyun lays on the floor. The human hasn't moved since Minseok dropped him there, curled on his side. There's blood everywhere on his catsuit, still pouring from the open wound on his chest.

 

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god, oh my god," Jongdae mutters. He looks around the room in distress, in search of something to stop the flow of blood but there's obviously nothing. They don't keep anything in the ramp room except some empty boxes that could be useful to hide important objects.

 

The only thing Jongdae can do at this point is scream: "Minseok! Oh my god, Minseok, I need help!"

 

His cries are rapidly answered. Minseok irrupts in the room in a fury, throwing himself on his knees on the other side of Baekhyun's body. At first glance, he doesn't look too harmed, only some scratches on his face.

 

Jongdae looks up with tears in eyes. "He got shot, Minseok, he's bleeding so much. He got shot, he got shot!" Jongdae's vision blurs and he blinks repetitively to try and see something. He's aware that he's not making any sense, probably only confusing and alarming Minseok even more, but he can't make sense of his own thought. It's almost funny how barely two weeks free of panic attacks made him forget how horrible it feels to not be in control of his own mind.

 

Minseok's palm are heavy weights on Jongdae's shoulders, grounding him in a reality Jongdae's mind is trying to escape. "I need you to take a deep breath," Minseok says in his ears, voice soft but still holding power over Jongdae's whirlwind of thoughts.

 

Jongdae nods and obeys, slowly regulating his breathing by following Minseok's lead. It must not take more than a couple of seconds before he's gaining a bit of control, but to Jongdae, it feels like hours. Minseok keeps murmuring encouragements, hands now stroking little patterns on the back of Jongdae's hands.

 

"You're okay?" Minseok asks and Jongdae nods, wiping a few stray tears off his cheeks. Minseok finally turns his attention to Baekhyun. "I need you to go grab the medic aid kit from the bathroom."

 

Jongdae springs to his feet, too quickly for his body to adjust. He cries out in pain, knees buckling under his own weight. He stabilizes himself, mind still lost in between reality and anxiety, and all but runs to the bathroom. Jongdae hits the doorways, runs into the walls, all of these impacts bringing more and more pain that he can't acutely feel. When he irrupts in the bathroom, the knowledge of where he keeps his first aid kit flies out of his mind. He ransacks the place, throwing stuff on the floor with his good hand. He finally puts his hand on the kit, exiting the bathroom in a flourish. The run back isn't smoother than the run to and more than once Jongdae almost faceplants on the floor to stay and die. He still manages to come back to the ramp room in one piece.

 

Minseok is exactly where Jongdae left him. He's shirtless, which allows Jongdae to see that he did suffer some other injuries, some bright red slashes decorating his back and shoulders. Jongdae gets closer to see that Minseok is using his discarded shirt to put pressure on Baekhyun's wound and try to stop the blood from flowing freely. His footsteps must be loud in the room because Minseok turns at his first step with well-concealed panic in his eyes.

 

"Oh Jongdae, thank god," Minseok says as he gestures him to come over. "Take out some thread and a needle. I need to stitch this wound up quickly before he looses any more blood."

 

Jongdae has to try two times before he manages to open the clasps of the kit with how badly his hands are shaking. He knows he's pushing his limit, probably overdoing it and drawing in his limited reserves but he has no choice. He quickly locates the instruments Minseok needs and hands them over. In a moment of rare clarity, Jongdae also grabs a cotton ball and some alcohol to disinfect the area Minseok will stitch. The Salafos shoots him a grateful smile as he gets to work.

 

Minseok is efficient and precise, working the needle in Baekhyun's skin without hesitation. Baekhyun doesn't even twitched and Jongdae fears that they're too late to save him. He feels useless, sitting here and watching Minseok do all the work, but he doesn't know what he could do. The thought wakes up his latent anxiety and Jongdae screws his eyes shut and breathes deeply.

 

"Jongdae, come on, we need to get him to his bed." Minseok's voice pulls Jongdae out of his own head. He opens his eyes to see that Minseok already cleaned up all the instruments. He also wiped out most of the blood that was tainting Baekhyun's skin, letting Jongdae assess the severity of the situation. The wound goes from the side of Baekhyun's neck down pass his collarbone to the edge of his pectoral. However, the stitches look clean and sturdy, done by a professional hand.

 

"Your room?" Jongdae asks as he pulls himself to his feet. Minseok nods, gesturing for Jongdae to grab Baekhyun's legs while he carries him by the shoulders.

 

"I can't," Jongdae stops him quickly in a moment of lucidity. "My arm... I think it's broken." His words catch Minseok's attention immediately.

 

"Why didn't you say anything before?" Minseok wonders as he reaches to grab Jongdae's right arm. It only takes a light squeeze of his fingers around Jongdae's forearm for him to shout in pain and for them to know that it is indeed broken. Minseok sighs. "I don't think we have plaster."

 

Jongdae gestures to pieces of hard cardboard lying around the room. "We can probably immobilize it safely with that. It's going to do the same thing as a traditional cast."

 

Minseok nods. He fixes Jongdae's arm with cardboard and gauze included in the first aid kit. It isn't ideal by any means, but it's as comfortable as a bandage can get and will clearly get the job done. Jongdae isn't surprised that Minseok knows how to provide first aid. It might be because he has a calm and wise demeanor, but it's probably because Baekhyun is reckless and someone needs to keep him alive somehow.

 

"Let's go, we need to install a blood transfusion for Baekhyun," Minseok prompts Jongdae to move.

 

It takes a while for them to get everything ready. Jongdae is tasked with removing Baekhyun from his blood-soaked catsuit. It isn't the easiest thing to do with only one good arm but he manages to succeed fairly quickly. Jongdae is too panicked and tired to take advantage of the moment and ogle Baekhyun's body, even if a part of his brain register how nice his firm chest feels under his palm. Disrobing Baekhyun of his clothes brings more injuries to light, some shallow cuts on his ribs and bigger wounds on his abdomen. Without needing to be told, Jongdae cleans them with alcohol and dresses them in small patches of gauze.

 

"Can you clean his left arm too?" Minseok requests from where he's setting up a blood bag on a transfusion pole. For the first time, Jongdae is glad that the rangers always make sure they're equipped for every situation.

 

Jongdae does what he's told and, in a matter of minutes, Baekhyun has foreign blood running through his veins. He still looks extremely pale and hasn't showed any sign of gaining consciousness, but Jongdae knows he's now out of danger. With a transfusion to regain all the blood he lost during the battle and a safe space to lay and restore his energy, Baekhyun will be fine. Once the realization takes place in Jongdae's mind, all of his anxiety and adrenaline drop, taking with them all of his energy. He flops lifelessly on the bed besides Baekhyun, unconscious before his head even hits the mattress.

 

 

 

 

 

The first thing Jongdae feels when he wakes up his numbness, almost like he came to in a ball of marshmallow under water. Jongdae frowns at his own analogy, not totally understanding how it even makes sense. His brain is fuzzy, thoughts jumbled in a sequence of no particular order. His body isn't responsive to his will, but it doesn't alarm him beyond measure. In fact, Jongdae can't help but think that it might be better this way.

 

It takes a minute of looking around the room for Jongdae to recognized his environment as his own bedroom on his rangers' ship. He's propped, not on marshmallows, but on a sea of soft pillows, keeping him somewhat upright. His right arm is cushioned in a cast of hard metal and soft cotton, totally immobilized.  He uses his left one to try and push himself in a sitting position, which only disrupts the content state of his mind and wakes the latent pain in every single part of his body. He groans and lets himself fall back on the bed.

 

A rapid look at his beside table's clock informs him that it's 5 in the morning. Somehow, it makes Jongdae smile. Even after going through hell and back, he still wakes up at the same time as all the other days. Bit by bit, the numbness characteristic of slumber leaves way to prickle of soreness. There's the obvious discomfort of the cast... a cast?

 

Jongdae sharply looks down at his right arm, so fast that his head spins and his vision blurs for a bit. Once everything goes back to normal, Jongdae can see that there is effectively a cast around his arm, immobilizing his wrist up to his elbow. It seems made in a kind of fiber glass substance, allowing him to see the metal bars keeping his arm straight. It's already totally solid and misted by his body heat, sign that it's been there for a while already. Minseok probably installed it when he was sleeping.

 

Slowly and methodically, Jongdae tries to move every part of his body, to assess the damage. To his biggest relief, nothing hurts except his arm. His legs are still weak, probably affected by remains of some kind of drugs Minseok gave him to help him rest. The effects will wear off sooner than later. For now, though, Jongdae doesn't have a lot of things to do but wait patiently.

 

 Jongdae's thoughts wander from his own injuries to Baekhyun. Automatically, worry brews in his veins, tying knots in his stomach and tightening his throat. Minseok is probably with him at the moment, tending to his wounds the best he can, but Jongdae longs to be with them. He's useless in helping Baekhyun to recover, because he doesn't know shit in medical care, even less in human medical care. The fact doesn't erase the visceral need to make sure that Baekhyun is okay.

 

Every time he closes his eyes, Jongdae relives the moment Baekhyun jumped in front of the bullet. He can hear the explosion in his ears, can smell the odor of burning flesh and pouring blood. It makes his hands tremble and his heart wrench. Jongdae has felt powerless a lot of times in his life, but never has he felt this insignificant. Baekhyun saved his life, might even lose his for him, and what does he do to thank him? Sleep his anxiety off.

 

It's with a newfound determination that Jongdae attempts to sit up again. The pain is merciless, wracking his body with spasms but he pushes through with gritted teeth. He swings one leg off the bed, quickly followed by the other. Standing up proves to be a challenge, his sense of equilibrium thrown off by the heavy cast and the drugs, but Jongdae manages to take a couple of steps before stumbling. He catches himself on the wall and uses it to guide himself out of the room and down the hallway.

 

Fortunately, the ranger issued ship is tiny and Baekhyun's bedroom isn't far from his own. Jongdae makes it in less than fifteen minutes, which he considers an accomplishment. He's exhausted, panting hard as he knocks on the door. Nobody answers, only the silence responding to him. Jongdae doesn't want to be rude by entering without being invited, but he needs to sit down and the sooner the better.

 

The room is immersed in darkness. Jongdae can make out a lump on the bed, barely illuminated by the lights of the hallway. Fumbling in the dark, Jongdae limps slowly to the chair by the bed, letting himself plop down on it with a sigh. He reaches down and flicks the bedside lamp on. It casts a golden glow in the room, illuminating Baekhyun's sleeping face.

 

The first thing Jongdae notices is that Baekhyun doesn't look too worse for wear. There are a lot of bandages on his skin, the biggest being on his neck and chest, and his complexion is a little paler than usual but other than that, he looks peaceful. The perfusion is still connected to his arm, drops of new blood mixing with the one pumping in his veins. It's a sight that would normally spike up Jongdae's anxiety, but it somehow calms it now. If the blood is going down so well, it's because Baekhyun's body accepts it and needs it and if it accepts it, it's because it's healing.

 

"He'll be fine," Minseok says from the doorway, making Jongdae jumps. He hits his cast on the armrest and violently bites his lips to prevent himself from shouting. He doesn't want to disturb Baekhyun in any way.

 

"I'm glad," Jongdae murmurs, voice shaking with sincerity. His eyes go back to Baekhyun's sleeping form. He has always thought of Baekhyun as someone bigger than life, boisterous and loud, almost too loud for a human. Now, as he looks at him laying in this bed, bandaged and hurt, Jongdae thinks he's never looked more human, weak and fragile.

 

"How are you feeling?" Minseok asks him. He steps in the room and goes straight to Baekhyun. He checks his vital signs with quick efficiency, scribbling them down on the notepad lying on the side of the bed. He's acting like a nurse in those old movies Jongdae likes to watch when he's bored while on duty and it makes Jongdae smile.

 

"A little bit dizzy but it's nothing I can handle." Minseok hums, adjusting Baekhyun's transfusion so that it doesn't drop too fast for his body to assimilate. "What do we do now?"

 

Jongdae means it in a broad way. Since they've gotten all the pieces, they technically need to go back to Kalsatos and get Kim Joonmyun's ship assembled. Jongdae doesn't know if that plan is still intact, after Baekhyun's and his injuries. Shouldn't they find a real doctor to check on Baekhyun and make sure he doesn't have any hidden wounds that are causing more damage than what they can handle?

 

"Baekhyun wants to go to Vasenta directly since Chanyeol accepted to deliver the ship there," Minseok answers with a sigh. "He said that he'd rather recuperate in Yixing's shop if there was a need for him to do so. I think he's scared that if we stop somewhere, we'll be attacked again and I must say that I agree with him. I'm not really sure if Kyungsoo sold us off or not, but I'd rather not take a chance again."

 

"I thought Kyungsoo was someone we could trust," Jongdae frowns, anger boiling in the pit of his stomach. With Minseok's story, about how the engineer bailed Baekhyun out of jail, Jongdae thought they would be safe with him the same way they were with Yixing. Force is to admit that Kyungsoo is a two-faced piece of shit.

 

"Like I said, I don't really know what happened," Minseok repeats. "The mercenaries might've learned where Kyungsoo's delivery was and decided to set up a trap, hoping we would be the ones completing it. Or they might've ordered the delivery themselves."

 

"Or maybe Kyungsoo wanted you dead," Jongdae contradicts. He's angry, because Kyungsoo was supposed to be Baekhyun's friend but he betrayed him. Jongdae doesn't know why it affects him so much, maybe because Baekhyun doesn't have a lot of people he trusts in his life and Kyungsoo seemed to be one of them. Jongdae knows how it feels to be alone and he doesn't want Baekhyun to go through the pain of the betrayal.

 

"Or maybe you're all thinking too much," Baekhyun groans. Both Minseok and Jongdae startle, turning their attention towards him only to see that he's trying to sit up on his bed, rather unsuccessfully. Minseok hurries to help him, keeping him upright while Jongdae fluffs the pillows to support his back.

 

"How are you feeling?" Jongdae asks as soon as Baekhyun is comfortable. He reaches to grab Baekhyun's hand in his left one, lacing their fingers together. If Baekhyun finds Jongdae's reaction weird or uncomfortable, he doesn't show it. He actually tightens his grip on Jongdae's fingers.

 

"As good as someone who got shot can feel, I guess." Baekhyun's smile isn't as wide and blinding as usual, but there's a smile on his face and Jongdae heaves a sigh of relief. If Baekhyun can find it in him to smile and joke around, it means that he's doing fine.

 

"I was so scared!" Jongdae cries out. "Why did you do this? You could've died!"

 

Baekhyun chuckles, but there's no joy in it. Actually, for the first time since Jongdae met him, he looks withdrawn and kind of stressed. "You would've died if I didn't jump in front of you."

 

Jongdae gawks at him. Baekhyun says it so simply, like it's an evidence that he would just put his life on the line for Jongdae. "But I'm not Minseok?"

 

Jongdae wants to facepalm himself. He can't believe he said that, can't believe his usually reliable brain-to-mouth filter failed him in the moment he needed it the most. It's embarrassing and he can't hold back the wail of despair that leaves his mouth. He can hear chuckles and even a full-blown laughter, but Jongdae refuses to look up from his hands, ashamed to no end.

 

"I know really well you're not Minseok, Jongdae," Baekhyun finally says, voice still high-pitched with mirth. It eases Jongdae's heart a little bit, to think that he managed to bring a little bit of joy to Baekhyun, even in the situation he's in. "Do you really believe I would've let you die just like that? Without trying to save you?"

 

Jongdae doesn't know what to think. If Baekhyun asked him that question a couple of minutes ago, he would've answered with a definitive yes. But now, as Baekhyun is squeezing his fingers, not letting go for a second, and looking at him with fondness in his eyes, he's not so sure anymore. Conflicted, Jongdae only shrugs and avoids Baekhyun's eyes. He can hear Baekhyun's sigh and the grip on his hands tightens.

 

"You're one of us, now," Baekhyun tells him. Jongdae's heart skips a beat, at the words but also that Baekhyun's tone. There's more than fondness in his voice, something deeper, something that resembles Minseok's tone when he's murmuring sweet nothings in Jongdae's ears after a night of passion. Jongdae doesn't want to believe it, because belief only causes him to imagine scenarios where these hopes become realities.

 

Jongdae wants to say something, to break the silence that is slowly spreading between them, but he's at a loss of words. Fortunately, Baekhyun coughs, which dissipates the building tension and diverts the attention away from Jongdae. Minseok reaches for a glass of water and helps Baekhyun take small sips. Once the coughing fit calms down, Jongdae and Minseok help Baekhyun lie down again.

 

"You really need to rest, Baek," Minseok reminds him, tucking the blanket under his chin. Baekhyun rolls his eyes and grumbles but complies. For all his protests, it doesn't take more than a minute before Baekhyun is out cold, sleeping soundly on the bed.

 

Minseok smiles and reaches to push back a stray strand of hair out of Baekhyun's eyes. "He's stubborn, but always ends up being reasonable." He makes a sign to urge Jongdae to leave the room and let Baekhyun rest but Jongdae shakes his head.

 

"I want to stay and make sure he's okay," Jongdae says. "You need to make sure we get back on Vasenta in one piece, you can't spend your time coming here to check on him. Let's me do that. It's the least I can do to thank him."

 

That's how Jongdae spends the next few days, sitting by Baekhyun's bed and keeping him company while he recuperates. He does everything Minseok taught him to do, taking Baekhyun's pressure and his temperature, listening to his lungs with a second-hand stethoscope and checking his transfusion. Baekhyun has been stable since they got him on the ship, back on Pau, and Jongdae is now completely sure he's out of danger. He still sticks to his routine two times a day, only to have an excuse to touch Baekhyun and feel the heat of his skin and the beat of his heart.

 

If Jongdae is honest with himself, though, he doesn't need an excuse to touch Baekhyun. Ever since Jongdae grabbed Baekhyun's hand the day he woke up, Baekhyun has been overly affectionate with him. He whines for Jongdae's attention, always trying to hold his hands or get him to play with his hair.

 

"It makes the pain go away," Baekhyun says childishly when Jongdae asks him why he wants him to stroke his hair. "You don't want me to be in pain, don't you?"

 

Baekhyun also has taken to act cute around Jongdae. He looks at him from under his eyelashes, he bites his lips and bats his eyelashes, coy and flirty. Jongdae doesn't know what to do with a Baekhyun like that. It's so out of character for him, out of everything Jongdae ever thought him to be that he doesn't know how to react.

 

It doesn't help that Jongdae is irrevocably attracted to Baekhyun, even more now that Baekhyun sacrificed himself for him. He's seeing Baekhyun in a new light now. He isn't the untouchable and undefeated human he once was, powerful and aloof, completely over everything. Now, in Jongdae's mind, Baekhyun isn't a god; he's a person, with weaknesses and strengths, with fears and worries, but, most importantly, with a big heart, big enough to, maybe, fit Jongdae inside too.

 

As usual, once a thought is planted in Jongdae's head, it doesn't leave. It grows more and more invasive until it becomes the only thing Jongdae can think about. Now, every move Baekhyun makes is a sign that he's interested in Jongdae, every word is an invitation to further their relationship, to take it up a notch. It's maddening and the cause of many embarrassing moments, like the time Jongdae spent all day staring at Baekhyun's lips without understanding a single thing he said. Baekhyun, of course, has called him out on it and Jongdae had to endure all the side remarks and mean jokes Baekhyun had come up with. It wasn't one of his most glorious moments.

 

In the midst of those confusing moments, though, there are ones of pure understanding and discovery. Baekhyun's room is small and mostly empty, with only a bed and a bedside table, practically void of entertainment. Of course, Baekhyun has a his portable console, but he can't play for long periods of time before his arm starts cramping up and his head hurts, and Jongdae, with an arm unavailable, is a good as a toddler in most of the games. To occupy themselves and keep the boredom at bay, they've taken to talk, a lot and, unlike when Jongdae first started to date Minseok, they have real conversations.

 

Jongdae isn't surprised at the outcome of those conversations, how they only make his infatuation grow in his chest. Baekhyun proves that he's way more than a loud mouth and that he has a very mature outlook on life, probably stemmed by his difficult upbringing.

 

"Honestly, life is way too short to do things you don't wanna do," Baekhyun says. They're munching on cookies Minseok baked a while ago. They might even be considered stale, for how much they're soft and mushy instead of crispy, but neither Jongdae or Baekhyun care. They're running low on supplies but made the decisions to keep going until they reach Vasenta. If they stop, they'll have to refuel the ship and they all agreed that it would be too dangerous to do so.

 

"I mean, look at that!" Baekhyun continues, gesturing to the scenery outside his room's small window. "The universe is big, bigger than everything we can ever imagined. You know, before everything went to shit, my parents told me about the golden age of the Earth. Did you know there was only nine listed planets in our solar system? And of those, none of them were visited by humans. We had gigantic probes and satellites that gathered information for us."

 

Jongdae listens, transfixed. He studied a lot, back in the ranger facility, learning about politics and governments and cultures, but nothing like this. They only taught him what could be useful to him, in the course of his duties. What Baekhyun is telling him is ten times more interesting.

 

"It's other species that found us, way before we even knew they existed." Baekhyun chuckles, shaking his head. "My mom said it was hysteria when the Martians landed on Earth. People freaking out and full-blown wars, crazy shit."

 

"It isn't that surprising," Jongdae comments. "Humans are known for being quick on the trigger."

 

Baekhyun laughs at that, one of those full-bodied laughs that make his voice skyrocket. It's Jongdae's favorite laugh of his, because for once, it totally erases the usual seriousness behind his eyes, replacing it with mirth.

 

"I'm glad it happened, the discovery of the Earth and everything that followed," Baekhyun tells him once he has calmed down. There's something in his voice, something Jongdae can never put his finger on but always makes him listen with avid attention. "This whole universal community idea and space travel and all of that, I love it. It might be stupid of me, because I've never known anything other that that, but I'm just... glad I guess, to have the freedom to choose where I wanna go."

 

Baekhyun bites his lips, a faint dusting of pink on his cheeks. Jongdae thinks he's embarrassed because his speech doesn't make much sense to others, but Jongdae understands. He understands what Baekhyun means because he voiced thoughts Jongdae has had in the past, thoughts he still has sometimes when he's laying on his bed at night. When his dad died and he was left alone to fend for himself, the dream of flying away, of seeing new horizons, was the only thing that kept his flame alive. It's what pushed him to fight for his life. It's what made him enroll in the rangers in the first place. Now, the dream of being a ranger saving lives all over the universe has died down by the reality of the job, but he knows what Baekhyun means.

 

"You can be everything you want to be, in this universe, because it's one hundred percent sure you'll find a place that accepts you," Baekhyun finishes with a soft smile. He's not looking at Jongdae, but down at the window, and Jongdae doesn't think he has ever seen him more beautiful than in this moment. He wants to reach up, take Baekhyun's face in between his palms and kiss him.

 

Somehow, something tells him Baekhyun would let him.

 

It's that realization that springs Jongdae into action. He jumps on his feet, so suddenly it startles Baekhyun. The latter winces as his movement disturbs the IV on his arm. "What do you..."

 

"I have to go... to... the bathroom," Jongdae cuts him, stumbling on his words and on his feet as he scrambles to leave the room. Baekhyun opens his mouth, probably to make sure he's okay but Jongdae doesn't want to listen to him. He needs to get away before he does something stupid that he will end up regretting.

 

The cold water he splashes on his face when he reaches the bathroom does nothing to extinguish the flames of desire that are burning in his veins. Jongdae can't erase the vision of Baekhyun in his room, blush on his cheeks and eyes sparkling with dreams, exactly like he can't forget Minseok's joyful smile when teaching Jongdae a new trick at the gym. His body is burning up with a type of want that Jongdae knows too well, that he learned to associate with Minseok.

 

"I'm in love with Baekhyun," Jongdae murmurs to himself.

 

It's clear as day in Jongdae's mind. Now that he has said it out loud, has uttered the words to be heard by the universe, it's like all the pieces of the puzzle fall into places. All of Minseok's innuendos, all of Jongdae's slip-ups, everything is now making sense. He wants Minseok, has wanted him since almost the beginning of this adventure, when he was still convinced they were going to kill him. However, Jongdae wants Baekhyun too. He wants them both, he needs them both. They fill up different parts of the hole in his chest, the abyss of loneliness Jongdae honestly thought would be in his heart until the day he dies.

 

Jongdae lets himself slide down the wall until he's sitting on the floor of the bathroom. Down there, the smell of piss is pungent, sign that they really need to clean up, but Jongdae barely smells it. He's in love with Minseok and Baekhyun. What does he do now?

 

A knock on the door pulls Jongdae out of his thoughts. "Jongdae, are you okay?" It's Minseok, sounding concerned.

 

"Yes, yes!" Jongdae scrambles to his feet to open the door with a wired smile. He must look worse than he thinks because Minseok's face morphs into one of complete worry and he reaches to grasp Jongdae's cheeks in his hands. Jongdae finds himself squished, lips puckering out by the strength of Minseok... massage? It doesn't hurt, just weirdly uncomfortable.

 

"Baekhyun said you just bolted out looking like you were about to throw up," Minseok says, still not letting go of Jongdae's face. "I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Do you feel sick, do you need something?"

 

"I need you to let go," Jongdae deadpans and, even if the words don't come out clean, Minseok understands. He drops his hands, looking sheepishly at Jongdae from under his eyelashes. "Sorry."

 

"I'm fine, I..." Jongdae starts saying before stopping himself. It's true that he's not sick, but he's not fine neither. "I'm in love with you."

 

It clearly isn't what Minseok was expecting him to say. The surprise is written all over his face, from the way his eyes grow bigger and his mouth drops open. For a moment, none of them say anything. Somehow, the silence doesn't make Jongdae uncomfortable or second-guessing. For the first time of his life, he's handing his heart on a platter for someone, for Minseok, to crush it or cherish it, but he's not afraid. He can't be afraid. It's exactly what Baekhyun said: the universe is big enough for him to find a place where he'll be comfortable. Jongdae thinks he has found it, thinks it's right here, with Minseok and Baekhyun.

 

"Jongdae, I... I mean... Baekhyun..." Minseok stumbles out, clearly shocked by the revelation and not knowing how to express his thoughts. Jongdae smiles. It's amusing to find Minseok in this position, especially since it's usually him who doesn't know what to say, him who can't make up his mind and ends up looking like a fool.

 

"I'm in love with Baekhyun, too," Jongdae says simply, like it solves all the problems. At least, he thinks it does.

 

At his words, Minseok finally looks up from the floor to gaze into Jongdae's eyes, searching for a lie. He won't find any. Jongdae is dead serious and totally honest. "Did you talk to Baekhyun about it?"

 

Jongdae shakes his head. "Soon. After this, in fact. If you think it's a good idea, that is."

 

For a second, there's no reaction from Minseok. Then, he lunches himself forward, wrapping his arms around Jongdae's neck and leaning up to kiss him soundly. Jongdae half-laughs, half-groans, at the relief of Minseok's reaction and at the impact of his hard body against his. They kiss for what feels like hours, only separating long enough for Minseok to whisper "thank the stars" against Jongdae's mouth repetitively. Jongdae isn't sure he understands the meaning of those words, why Minseok feels the need to say them right now, but he can't bring himself to ask, to care. He's floating on a cloud now, heart and mind at ease and he doesn't want to let go of this feeling.

 

Telling Baekhyun is a piece of cake. The human has been waiting on his bed, wringing his fingers together in concern. When Jongdae and Minseok errupts, hands in hands, lips swollen and bitten red, Baekhyun's eyes shine. A smile paints itself on his lips, almost like he knows exacly where this is going. He lifts a hand and croons his fingers at them. "Come here."

 

Jongdae all but runs to him. Their lips crash together rather painfully, but none of them bother to care. Baekhyun is an excellent kisser, even better than Minseok if Jongdae is being honest. He coaxes Jongdae's lips open with his tongue, enthusiastically licking the back of Jongdae's teeth. Jongdae moans and, suddenly, there's a hand in his hair. Jongdae pulls away from Baekhyun's lips to look up at Minseok who's smiling at them with fondness in his eyes.

 

"You too," Baekhyun says, making kissing faces at Minseok. The latter laughs but complies, planting a short but passionate kiss on Baekhyun's mouth. Jongdae watches them. It feels like his heart is too big for his chest, beating erratically against his bones. He's happier that he has ever been, so happy that he starts laughing uncontrollably, only to try and make sense of the overwhelming joy he's feeling. His laughter is contagious and suddenly they're all laughing and hugging and kissing, seated on Baekhyun's bed.

 

"Thank the stars," Minseok murmurs again and, somehow, even if he doesn't know why Minseok is saying that, Jongdae agrees.

 

 

 

 

 

Just like when Jongdae first started to date Minseok, nothing really changes in the ship. There is more touching and kissing involved now than ever, so much, in fact, that Jongdae's lips hurt almost all the time. Baekhyun is particularly fond of kissing, which doesn't come as a surprise to Jongdae at all. He had noticed how the human likes to put absolutely everything in his mouth, from his own fingers to pencils laying around. If anything, it turns out that his new favorite thing to have in his mouth is Jongdae's tongue. Not that Jongdae minds.

 

Baekhyun is still bedridden, his injuries healing steadily but really slowly. It leaves him frustrated most of the time. He whines about everything from how useless he feels to the color of the bed sheets to how he's not a freaking porcelain doll.

 

"You kind of are, though," Jongdae says with a smirk. "I mean, humans are known to be fragile creature."

 

The only answer he gets is a shriek and a pillow thrown in his face. Baekhyun is so easy to frustrate and Jongdae never gets tired of seeing him lose it. It's even funnier now that Baekhyun can't really chase him around the ship with his whip of steal or any of the weapons he carries around with him all the time. Even so, Jongdae is always mindful of not pushing the plug too far. The banter is fun and they both dive into it with open heart, but Jongdae knows there's a part of truth in Baekhyun's whining. For someone who is used to have his own destiny in his hands, it's hard for him to sit on the back burner and wait.

 

Minseok and Jongdae take turn keeping Baekhyun company, because the latter gets bored easily and a bored Baekhyun is an annoying Baekhyun. It doesn't leave them a lot of time for each other, but they make it happen. Time when Baekhyun is asleep finds them furiously making out in the cockpit, ship on autopilot as they shred their clothes. By now, they are so accustomed with each other's bodies that it doesn't take long for them to get the other off. Jongdae wants to get more adventurous and try new things, but there's not much they can do in a crowded ship's pilot room. Maybe when Baekhyun will heal, they'll have more time to go and explore.

 

Between Minseok's reassuring presence and Baekhyun's perpetual light, Jongdae can't help but feel happy. The loneliness is nothing but a small dot in the back of his mind, memory of a distant past when Jongdae had nothing to look forward to. Now, though, he has a plan in action. If everything goes as expected, they will land on Vasenta in less than three days. There, they'll get Yixing to assemble Kim Joonmyun's ship, which might take up to a week, according to Baekhyun.

 

"By now, you should know how detailed Serenian's ship are," Baekhyun explains while eating a stale bowl of cereals. They are running low on supplies, but Minseok doesn't want to stop until they reach Vasenta. The memories of their last stop are still too fresh in his mind for him to consider them safe on a planet and Jongdae has to agree. "To replicate the exact way they built it will take time, that's for sure."

 

"What are we going to do during all this time?" Jongdae asks. As much as he's looking forward to completing the ship and finally getting rid of these crazy mercenaries trying to rip his heart out of his chest, he isn't particularly excited to be back on Vasenta. The planet didn't leave such a great impression on Jongdae. The only thing he liked was the pretty lights - and Yixing.

 

Minseok shrugs from his place at the foot of Baekhyun's bed. They're eating dinner, something they started doing everyday in a way to straighten their bond and get rid of any awkwardness that could settle between them. Nothing of that sort happened yet, but Jongdae appreciates how serious both Baekhyun and Minseok are about their relationship. They really want this to work, which in turns, motivates Jongdae to put in the efforts.

 

"There's not much to do on Vasenta for someone who's not involved in the black market," Minseok says to explain his reaction. "I mean, we could get wasted in shitty bars, pick up fights with other smugglers and get killed, but I don't think you'll be up for that kind of activities."

 

Jongdae's facial expression must be funny because Baekhyun only looks at him for a second before bursting out laughing. He scowls, more for show than out of actual offense. The time flying the universe with them makes Jongdae forget that they are essentially the bad guys, ones that he might've tried to arrest one day. If Jongdae wasn't around, they probably would've done exactly what Minseok described. Jongdae can almost see them, lounging on a bar stool, sipping on some bright green alcohol. Somehow, Baekhyun would be a lightweight, already slurring after a single drink and Minseok would be the exasperate chaperon making sure he makes it home in one piece. The image almost makes Jongdae beg Minseok to go with this stupid plan, until he remembers that he can't hold his ground in a fist fight. The last thing he wants is to be a dead weight in the middle of a planet infested with dangerous people.

 

"Anything else?" Jongdae croaks out, mind still stuck in between his fantasies and his fears.

 

Baekhyun makes a grab for the box of cereals. He stretches too far and a resonating tear echoes in the room. Jongdae is on his feet in an instant, his own bowl flying to the floor with a splash. There's milk on his socks, soaking in the material, but it's the last thing on his mind. There's a pained expression on Baekhyun's face and he's biting his lips to prevent himself from shouting.

 

"I told you to be careful," Minseok sighs. He's less alarmed than Jongdae, calmly putting down his dinner on the bedside table before reaching for Baekhyun's shoulder. The touch makes Baekhyun moan under his breath and Jongdae winces.

 

"I literally did nothing," Baekhyun grits between his teeth. With Minseok's help, he settles down on his pillows in a comfortable position. The cloth wrapped around Baekhyun's wound is bright red, sign that at least one of the stitches opened up.

 

At the sight of the blood, Jongdae jumps into action. He cuts open the bandage, pulling the sullied fabric away. He cleans the wound with the antiseptic they keep under the bed for emergencies like this. Baekhyun hisses under his breath.

 

"You could give a guy a warning, you know?" Baekhyun pouts, but doesn't protest the burn of the lotion.

 

Jongdae scoffs. "It's the third time this week, Baekhyun. I'm starting to think you're doing this because you know that it makes me freak out."

 

Baekhyun laughs, albeit not as full-bodied and loud as usual. "It's true that I like throwing you off your feet but not enough to withstand that pain."

 

His voice merges in a groan as Minseok unceremoniously plunges a needle in Baekhyun's skin. Jongdae promptly looks away. It always makes him highly uncomfortable and he's glad he doesn't have to do it. He knows how to stitch a wound in theory, has learned all the bases of first aid in the ranger's academy, but knowing isn't the same thing as feeling confident doing it.

 

Jongdae feels fingers dancing on the skin of his cheek, down to his chin. They close around it, turning his face away from the wall until he's grazing in Baekhyun's eyes. "Kiss me," Baekhyun mouths and Jongdae can't do anything but oblige. Anything to keep Baekhyun's mind off of the pain.

 

With Minseok in between them working on Baekhyun's chest, the kiss gets awkward quickly. Jongdae is perched half on his thigh, half on his knee, neck bent to the right to slot his lips over Baekhyun's. There's not much he can do but let Baekhyun lead the kiss, barely being able to move without losing his balance.

 

"Okay, lovebirds, I'm done," Minseok announces, pushing Baekhyun and Jongdae apart. He's wiping the needle with an antiseptic cloth and sure enough, when Jongdae looks down at Baekhyun's bare chest, he sees a brand-new stitch in the sea of older stitches. The wound doesn't look too bad for one that keeps reopening, but it's clear that it's far from healed yet.

 

Baekhyun makes kissing faces at Minseok. "Thank you so much for taking of me, Minseokkie," he mellows out, voice purposely honeyed. Minseok rolls his eyes and makes to shove him before catching himself at the last second.

 

"Please be careful," Jongdae ends up begging in Minseok's place. "You need to take it easy and heal, okay?"

 

Baekhyun sighs but nods in agreement. With Jongdae's and Minseok's help, he lays down on his bed, pillows propping his upper body higher to make sure the wound is elevated. Jongdae pulls the blanket up, tucking Baekhyun in while Minseok busies himself in cleaning Jongdae's mess.

 

"Who decided that I was going to sleep?" Baekhyun wonders, aiming for defiance, but his voice already sounds drowsy.

 

"I did," both Jongdae and Minseok say at the same time. It makes them laugh, the three of them, and it dissipates the heavy atmosphere that settled in since Baekhyun's newest injury.

 

"Sleep, Baek," Jongdae murmurs, taking place by his side on the bed to keep watch. Baekhyun tends to move a lot in the first minutes of his sleep and Jongdae has taken to staying with him to make sure he doesn't aggravate his injuries.

 

Baekhyun smiles and nods, sending a flying kiss to Minseok who's already at the doorway, ready to go back to the cockpit room and make sure they're still on the right path. Minseok catches it, mouthing his love and Baekhyun turns to Jongdae, doing the same. Jongdae smiles, bending down to kiss Baekhyun's forehead. And as he watches Minseok closing the door softly after a last graze at them both, eyes filled with admiration, Jongdae thinks nothing can beat the happiness he's feeling in this moment.

 

 

 

 

 

This time, Minseok makes the ship land closer to the town center of Vasenta than before. He explains his reasoning with a roll of eyes and a word about how they're already targeted. At this point, nothing they can do will stop the mercenaries from trying to kill them. It's better for them to have a ship close by, for quick escape if the need to ever arises. Jongdae has to agree that it's smart, even if landing so close to the buildings is bound to attract unwanted attention.

 

Vasenta hasn't changed one bit since the last time Jongdae has been here. The streets are still illuminated with turquoise nox gems. This time, however, they don't hold the same reverential power, because Jongdae knows what they're hiding. He can see the movements in the dark, the sliver of blades being pulled and of bodies falling to the floor. He can hear the sobs of prostitutes being beaten to death and the roars of anger of smugglers being played. Vasenta has all of Jongdae's body hair standing up on his skin and his sense prickling in alert. He cannot wait to get out of here.

 

They trek slowly through the city, being mindful of staying on the illuminated path. Baekhyun is heavily leaning on Jongdae's shoulder, grunting under his breath at every steps he takes. He has been getting up everyday for the past week, walking around the ship with the aid of the walls. It helped rebuilding the strength he lost in his legs, but wasn't nearly enough to allow Baekhyun to roam the city alone. Jongdae doesn't mind being Baekhyun's personal crutch. If anything, the human's presence and body heat chase most of Jongdae's fear away and lets him walk around with a semblance of normality.

 

Yixing's garage's door is blocked by piles and piles of pungent trash bags fallen from the overflowed containers on both side of it. Minseok sighs and pokes one of the bags with the end of his solar gun. It moves and screeches, making the three of them jump away.

 

"God, what the hell is that?" Jongdae mutters as he eyes how the bag is slowly crawling away from its spot to the pathway. It's still grumbling like a small animal, noises nothing like Jongdae has ever heard before.

 

Minseok visibly hesitates before answering. He looks at Baekhyun, who only shrugs against Jongdae's shoulder. "Probably used to be a whore who isn't useful to her pimp anymore."

 

Jongdae's breath stops right in his throat. He turns around to look at the bag, still crawling away so slowly. "We have to help her!" he exclaims with wide-eyes. "She's clearly in pain and..."

 

"Dae, she's not all there anymore," Minseok says gently. "The brothel owners, they... make sure their prostitutes cannot bring harm to their institutions. It's better to let her go like that. She'll at least feel like she has a goal, until the virus eats away what's left of her brain."

 

Jongdae has heard about that barbaric way of getting rid of people. They inject a virus, synthetically created, in the person's veins. It's design to infect the synapses and quickly disintegrating them until there is no connection left in the brain. Without connections, the neurons stop working and the person dies. It's a clean way of disposing of someone, highly illegal and simply disgusting. Before dying, the infected lose control of their body and mind, imprisoned in a brain that doesn't want them anymore. A shiver runs down Jongdae's spine as he realizes that it's a common practice on Vasenta, that there are  people disconnected enough to do this daily.

 

"Let's just clear the way and go see Yixing, okay?" Baekhyun cuts in Jongdae's thoughts.

 

They set to work or, well, Minseok sets to work removing the bags from the entrance one by one, making sure to keep his hands away from any holes or openings. Jongdae and Baekhyun watch, mainly because Baekhyun wouldn't be able to even lift one of the bags, letting alone toss them around like Minseok does, and Jongdae is needed to keep Baekhyun upright. There's also the fact that Jongdae is beyond terrified to be infected if he ever so slightly approaches them, but it's not something he will admit so easily.

 

Even without help, Minseok makes a quick work of creating a passage big enough for them to open the door and sneak inside the garage. If anything in Vasenta has changed since they last were here, everything about Yixing's warehouse has. Jongdae wouldn't have described the space has crowded, but it definitely wasn't as empty as it is now. There's literally nothing in the warehouse. The table, the chairs, the fridge and all other appliances, they have all disappear. It's almost as if the building has been abandoned.

 

"Yixing?" Baekhyun calls out and his voice echoes in the emptiness. For a moment, it's silence until a banging noise is heard in the back. They take cautious steps towards the origins of the sound, Minseok in front with his solar gun ready to blast. He doesn't have to, because it's Yixing who comes tumbling down the stairs leading to the second floor room, white hair flowing behind his back with grace.

 

"I was waiting for you," Yixing says, flocking around them like a moth to a flame. He extends his arms, probably to hug Baekhyun close to his chest, but Baekhyun flinches away. It brings Yixing's attention to the white bandage peaking out of his catsuit, just under his autotranslator mask. "Oh, you're hurt!"

 

"It's nothing, really," Baekhyun dismisses with a blatant lie. Yixing is clearly having none of it, roughly pulling Baekhyun out of Jongdae's hold and hauling him up the stairs. Baekhyun stumbles more often than not, face tense in distress. Jongdae hurries behind them, Minseok hot on his heels.

 

"Please be careful," Jongdae calls out, catching Baekhyun just as he trips on one of the steps. "He needs to take it slow for now."

 

Yixing nods and pushes open the first door they come across once they reach the top of the stairs. It leaves way to a basic bedroom, not unlike the ones in Jongdae's ranger ship. He urges Baekhyun to the bed. Baekhyun scowls, clearly annoyed at the idea of going back to laying down all day, but Jongdae is glad. Baekhyun really needs to recover and the only way to assure that he will is taking it slow, something Baekhyun is totally unable to do on his own. To know that Yixing, even if he doesn't know the details of his injury, is on the same page as Minseok and him reassures Jongdae.

 

"I'll call the medic," Yixing says as he's making sure Baekhyun is comfortable. "I'm guessing an accurate medical opinion might help getting you back on your feet faster." At the lack of protest, Yixing leaves to go get the medic, promising to come back to talk about the Serenian ship as soon as possible.

 

"How come he knew we were coming?" Baekhyun asks as soon as Yixing's footsteps aren't audible anymore, sign that their host is out of earshot. Jongdae recognizes a hint of panic in Baekhyun's voice, panic that is well reflected in Jongdae's own thoughts. Ever since what happened in Pau, Jongdae is paranoid that they are being framed and Yixing's cryptic actions and sudden change in the decor of his warehouse really raise a lot of flags.

 

"He might have installed a tracker inside the ship when he fixed it," Minseok wonders, but the way he says it screams of knowledge, not uncertainty. Baekhyun turns his face to look at him, eyebrows raised so high they're hiding in his fringe. Minseok has the decency to blush under their gazes. "I just wanted someone to know where we were if anything happened."

 

"Was Minseokkie worried?" Baekhyun coos, laugh bubbling out of his throat. Baekhyun is reassured, that much is clear, but it doesn't really dissipate the anxiety Jongdae is feeling. He hides it the best he can, laughing and exchanging smile with Minseok and Baekhyun as they wait for Yixing to come back, but he knows he'll only feel relax when the technician will be back, medic in tow. For the moment, Jongdae can't shake up the feeling that Yixing is out there to get them.

 

Jongdae prides himself for his gut feelings. It's one of the things that set him apart from the other rangers, his ability to rely on himself and his intuition when he needs it the most. However today, for the first time in a long while, Jongdae is wrong. Yixing barges in the room with a big smile and followed by a man dressed in a white lab coat. He hurries over to Baekhyun without a word and Jongdae sees it as their cue to leave him to his devices.

 

They return to the empty first floor, except that it isn't empty anymore. Instead, it's filled with everything they collected throughout their journey: the furniture from Jongin's mobile shop, the tech stuff from Kyungsoo's crazy planet and even the empty frame of Kim Joonmyun's ship straight out of Chanyeol's garage. There are already technicians working on it, assembling pieces of the cabin together to rebuild the initial structure. Jongdae blinks repetitively, even going as far as rubbing his eyes with his fists until he sees white spots on his eyelids, but nothing about the scene changes.

 

"I figured you would want to get out of here quickly, after what happened last time," Yixing supplies with an innocent smile. He has both hands behind his back and is overseeing the works with a peaceful expression on his face, almost like nothing bothers him, not the fact that one of his friends is injured upstairs or that he has wanted criminals in his garage. It's unsettling to Jongdae to see someone so calm in front of danger.

 

It takes a couple of hours before the medic finally leaves Baekhyun's room. He immediately starts talking to Yixing, in a voice so low Jongdae can't hear anything even if he's standing barely two meters away. It worries Jongdae to no end, but the only thing he has to canalize his panic is Minseok's hand in his. He plays with the Salafos's fingers, wringing them between his own and letting them go in time with his breath. It does little to calm his anxiety but it at least occupies his mind enough to keep him from imagining catastrophic scenarios.

 

Another thing Jongdae does to distract himself is watch the progress made on Kim Joonmyun's ship. Baekhyun probably didn't expect Yixing to have an army of technicians working on the ship when he voiced his estimate, because it doesn't seem possible to Jongdae that they'll be here for a week. The whole exterior is complete, from the royal blue aluminium covering the frame to the crystal-clear glass of the cockpit window. They're now installing the main system, with all the radars and autopilot components. It's the hardest part, because it involves a lot of wires and technical combinations of artificial intelligence and high technology. They are breezing through the work, though, pieces coming in the ship and rarely getting out at a speed Jongdae almost can't follow.

 

The movements lull Jongdae in a false sense of security. He can feel his head becoming heavier and heavier until his neck isn't strong enough to hold it by itself. His head falls on the nearest surface available, which turns out to be Minseok's shoulder. His eyes keep falling in and out of focus and even if Jongdae tries to wake up, there's nothing to be done. His body has been on edge for what feels like hours and is now losing the battle. Knowing that Minseok will do everything to keep him safe, Jongdae succumbs to his body's order of relaxing. After all, he'll need all of his strength when they'll finally be able to leave this hellhole and fly straight in the lion's den.

 

 

 

 

 

"What do you mean I can't come with you?"

 

Jongdae sighs. In truth, he was under no impression that this conversation would go well. When the medic finally had enough of talking to Yixing like he was the only one worried about Baekhyun's condition, he woke Jongdae up from Minseok's shoulder to break the news to them. Baekhyun's injuries are more extensive and dangerous than they thought and require immediate medical assistance. He also needs supervised rest, preferably somewhere that doesn't move all the time. The only option available to them to meet those requirements is to leave Baekhyun on Vasenta with Yixing while Jongdae and Minseok take Kim Joonmyun's ship back to Serena. It isn't ideal to say the least and Jongdae almost has a panic attack at the thought, but there's nothing they can do.

 

Breaking the news to Baekhyun turns out to be another challenge, because while Minseok is a logical being and Jongdae prides himself in his realist outlook on the world, Baekhyun carbides on adrenaline and recklessness. He doesn't stop to think about his strength or his abilities, he just charges right into situations that could be mortal without a single blink. It's a quality Jongdae has admired from him since the beginning of their relationship, but he now understands that fearlessness comes with a price.

 

"Baek, for once in your life, can you listen to our recommendations?" Minseok pleads, exasperation bleeding in his voice. He looks tired, dark circles tainting the undersides of his eyes purple and shoulders drooping. Jongdae wants to cradle him into his arms and force him to rest, but knows Minseok wouldn't have any of it. Minseok is the kind of person to keep going until their goal is reached and now that they're so close to it, there's no way he will stop.

 

They would be even closer if Baekhyun could stop being so stubborn.

 

"What the fuck, Minseok? You actually think this is a good idea?" Baekhyun sounds completely shocked, almost betrayed. There's a flash of panic in his eyes before he reigns it in, something only a keen eye would've been able to catch. Unfortunately for Baekhyun, Jongdae is too well-versed in anxiety attacks to miss it.

 

"Of course I do!" Minseok exclaims, displeasure clear and loud. "You're clearly in need of medical care and you're refusing it! Do you want to die?"

 

Jongdae knows he needs to intervene before things get out of hand. Minseok is becoming progressively angrier as the conversation goes on and with Baekhyun's state of panic, it can only get uglier. The last thing Jongdae wants is for his boyfriends to lash out at each other.

 

"Minseok, why don't you go see how much progress they made downstairs?" Jongdae asks in an overly innocent voice, like he's requesting it out of genuine curiosity and not to get him away from Baekhyun. He knows that Minseok can see right through him, but he just hopes that he won't call him out on it.

 

For a moment, they only stare at each other, Jongdae trying to communicate his intention with his eyes, which probably isn't as successful as he wishes. Then, Minseok sighs and shrugs, spinning on his feet to leave the room. Before closing the door behind him, he glances back at Jongdae with a look at scream "you better know what you're doing". Jongdae turns away quickly because he doesn't, not really.

 

"You agree with all of this?" Baekhyun asks him as soon as they're alone in the room. There's animosity in his voice, but behind it, Jongdae can detect fear. Now that Jongdae has been spending more time with Baekhyun, he almost finds it funny how terrified he was of the human. Jongdae wouldn't say that he's all bark and no bite, because he has seen Baekhyun tear people apart with no regret or hesitation. However, it is obvious, in retrospect, that Baekhyun isn't the tough guy that fears nothing like he makes himself look. He's plagued with doubts and troubles, like every other living being in this universe and, even if he would rather die than admit it, needs reassurance sometimes.

 

"I do think that it would be better for you to rest," Jongdae answers carefully, making sure to keep his tone light and not threatening. "I won't lie and say that it makes me happy but..."

 

"Then let me come with you!" Baekhyun jumps on the opportunity to make his point heard. "I've been part of this adventure since the beginning, I deserve to see it come to an end."

 

Jongdae sighs. "I agree, Baekhyun, but please, consider our opinion. We are worried about your health. The last thing we want is for you to be unnecessarily hurt." The possibility is tangible, especially since they'll be visiting one of the most, if not the most, dangerous underground lords of the universe. However, it isn't the road Jongdae wants to take to convince Baekhyun to stay in Vasenta.

 

"I know it worries you, to be left behind," Jongdae declares and the flash of fear that flashes in Baekhyun's eyes says it all. "That it might even terrify you. I just want you to know that we're not propositioning this to get rid of you, quite the contrary actually. We want you to be better so you can come back to us, healthy and ready to tear through everything."

 

Baekhyun's expression is still somber, like Jongdae's words have done nothing to help reassure him. "I'm not worried about that," he says and Jongdae sees it as a small victory, because he didn't deny being worried. "I just... There's no one I trust here."

 

Jongdae hums. It makes sense, considering Baekhyun's background, that he wouldn't be comfortable in a place filled with strangers, especially now that he isn't as mobile as usual. He's not exactly sure, however, of what he can say in this situation.

 

"I thought Yixing was a friend of yours?" Jongdae finally questions to maybe make Baekhyun reconsider is opinion of the place.

 

Baekhyun scoffs. "In my line of work, friends are the most likely to stab you in the back at the first occasion," he spits and it immediately makes Jongdae think about Kyungsoo and what happened on Pau. He swallows audibly and, in a small moment of craziness, undoes his belt. He ignores Baekhyun's shrieks of "what are you doing?" and takes out a small pocket knife from his chest. With it, he cuts open the handmaid seam of the belt to free small beads of shiny red liquid.

 

"Is that... solar lava?" Baekhyun gasps and Jongdae nods. Beads of solar lava are extremely difficult to obtain, mainly because they are illegal in every part of the universe. Created with the sole objective of destroying, these beads are highly reactive to any change of pressure. Nowadays, they are mainly recycled in solar gun cartridge, but in the beginning, they were used on their own as incredibly powerful explosives. "Where the fuck did you get that?"

 

"I stole them," Jongdae answers simply, gathering more beads out of his belt. "Jongin had some lying around in his shop. When I saw them, I couldn't resist."

 

Baekhyun lets out a laugh of disbelief, face twisted by amazement. "I spent the whole time we were there looking for that kind of stuff and you beat me to the punch."

 

"Take them" Jongdae thrusts the beads forward and into Baekhyun's hands. The human hurries to catch them, holding them preciously against his chest with wide eyes. "That way, you'll have something to defend yourself if anything happens here while we're gone."

 

Baekhyun looks hesitant to accept the offer, but doesn't voice any objection. The duality of his actions show Jongdae that he has found the nerve of the problems and, coincidentally, its solution too. "Please, it would make me a lot less anxious if you were to have them."

 

As Jongdae expected, putting the worry on someone else's shoulders give Baekhyun that small window to accept the offer without having to outwardly admit to his weaknesses. He doesn't say anything, just closes his hands around the beads with a small sigh and a drop of his head but Jongdae can't hold back the victorious smile blooming on his lips.

 

"Fine, I'll stay behind," Baekhyun mutters as he tucks the small beads in the linen of his bed. "Be careful, though! Kim Joonmyun is batshit crazy and..."

 

"Crazier than you?" Jongdae sneers. The only response he gets is a, albeit weak, punch in the shoulder and a scowl. Jongdae's smile softens and he reaches to card a hand through Baekhyun's hair. "We're gonna be fine."

 

Baekhyun nods but doesn't look convinced. He tilts his head upwards, lips puckering out, and Jongdae can't help but oblige. The kiss he deposits on Baekhyun's lips is soft and reassuring. He takes his time moving his lips, caressing Baekhyun's with his tongue in slow strokes. Baekhyun lets him lead, content with drawing small nothings on the back of his shirt. "Promise you'll be careful," he murmurs against Jongdae's mouth and Jongdae hums in acknowledgement.

 

"Don't worry, we'll come back to you."

 

 

 

 

 

Flying alone is something Jongdae is used to. He has been doing it for years as a ranger; it should be something comfortable for him, like coming back home after a long vacation. That's why he didn't protest when the plan of Minseok and him flying in two separate ships to Serena arose. Not only does it make sense with their mission (after all, they'll need a way to get back from Serena after delivering the ship), but Jongdae also thinks that it might be good for him, personally, too. A lot of things happened since Minseok and Baekhyun stumbled in his vacation apartment and Jongdae would gladly make more sense out of them that he had the time to before.

 

For the first few hours, Jongdae actually relishes in the silence that comes with being alone in his ranger's ship. It brings him back to his old life, well before any of this adventure happened. He spends most of his time in the cockpit, adjusting the course of the ship and checking the radars in fear of mercenaries coming up from nowhere to shoot him down. The worry eases down after a moment when it becomes clear that they aren't being followed. Jongdae takes the liberty to place a tracker on Kim Joonmyun's ship flying in front of him and letting the autopilot follow it.

 

That leaves him with nothing to do. Ordinarily, Jongdae would surf on his info-tablet in hopes of finding a crime near his sector that he could investigate on, something that escaped the ranger's oversight. Obviously, this isn't something he can do anymore, mainly because he doesn't have his info-tablet with him, but also because he's probably not considered a ranger anymore. He should've reported back to the headquarters a month ago, which means he can be considered one of two things by his colleagues and superiors: he's either missing or rogue. Jongdae isn't sure which one is the best.

 

If they think he's missing, it means they are probably looking for him at this moment. Of course, there's no way Yunho would dispatch tons of ships to look for a missing ranger when he's already short on staff, but it still means they are on the look out. It can both be a good and a bad thing. On one hand, people searching for him mean that if something was to happen, someone would try to help him. On the other hand, though, if the rangers come to know why Jongdae has been missing and what role Baekhyun and Minseok have played in the ordeal, the two smugglers will definitely be in danger of being prosecuted. A couple of weeks ago, Jongdae would've agreed one hundred percent to that finality. In this moment, however, it's the last thing he wants.

 

Contrariwise, thinking he's gone rogue means they'll never accept him back in their ranks. Jongdae isn't high enough in the hierarchy to justify being tracked down and silenced, thankfully, but it doesn't change the fact that if he were to cross path with a ranger, they would shoot him without hesitation. While it's dangerous, Jongdae isn't so worried about that possibility. After all, he's been roaming the universe in a probably already categorized stolen ranger ship with two criminals and they haven't come across a single ranger. He doubts he's going to, honestly, and if he does, he can probably avoid them easily.

 

The thing that worries him the most is the impossibility to go back. Jongdae is well aware that his journey with the smugglers is coming to an end. They might be dating, or something close to dating at least, but it doesn't mean that he'll be accepted in their duo. After all, he might quickly become a liability to their lifestyle. Jongdae is not a criminal. He doesn't know how to be tough and dangerous, how to intimidate people with his physique or his aura. He's worried he'll become a drag and they'll be sick of him. Jongdae isn't sure he could take it, for Baekhyun and Minseok to abandon him somewhere because they can't deal with him anymore. It would break his heart.

 

It's at this exact moment that it hits him. Of all the scenarios Jongdae has imagined, it hasn't crossed his mind to leave Baekhyun and Minseok, at least not on his own accord. It's almost as if he gave up on being a ranger.

 

The realization is so sudden that Jongdae drops the bottle of soap he has been using to clean the cockpit's control board. It splashes everywhere and is probably damaging some of his equipment but Jongdae doesn't care, cannot care. His mind is reeling with the decision he has unknowingly made. He's not a ranger anymore, hasn't been since Baekhyun and Minseok blew up his apartment's door back on Fantasia. He's done with being lonely and miserable, flying the universe alone looking for pathetic robbers. Being a ranger has never fulfilled anything in his life other than getting him out of Jundo. It only brought him a false sense of belonging, a mock goal and a whole lot of anxiety and sadness. It isolated him, made him fearful of basically everything and everyone. It's not how one should lived.

 

Baekhyun and Minseok fueled the fire in him. They showed him that he still has worth, as a friend, as something more than a friend, as a living being in this universe. They reassured him when he was panicking, they gave him opportunities to shine and learn and become the man that he has always been. Never in his life Jongdae has felt like he belonged as much as he did this past months with the two of them. It totally contradicts all of his fear of abandonment, which doesn't surprise Jongdae because his anxiety is often triggered by thoughts that aren't anchored in reality. What’s amazing is that he's seeing beyond this fear, to the point where he can't imagine a life without them anymore. It's a testimony of how much he's grown, yes, but also of how much he genuinely likes Minseok and Baekhyun.

 

Suddenly, the silence of the ship is deafening to the point where Jongdae is amazed that he thought he could withstand it. It hasn't been a day yet and he cannot wait to be reunited with Baekhyun and Minseok. The loneliness is settling deep in his bone, but it's a different kind of loneliness. This one is filled with longing and hope, fueled by memories of smiles and happiness. It's a loneliness that motivates him to finish this mission and go back to building a relationship with the two smugglers. It's a little bit insane that it only took him a couple of hours alone to figure it out, but Jongdae doesn't question it. He's done with second-guessing everything about his life. Life is made for living, something Jongdae hasn’t done in a long while. If he wants to be with Minseok and Baekhyun, then, he should dive head first and try to make it happen.

 

It's with a satisfied smile that Jongdae rips the ranger's sign from his shirt. It feels like a weight has been removed from his shoulders, like he has finally shred the last part of himself that was tying him down. Of course, there is still a lot of things he is uncertain about. After all, him wanting to be with Baekhyun and Minseok doesn't mean that they want the same thing. It might be completely crazy to ditch his future as a ranger like that, for two men he has known for a couple of months. Somehow, Jongdae isn't anxious about that. In fact, he's utterly at peace with his decision, something he hasn't felt in years. He feels untouchable, empowered.

 

It's with that thought in mind that Jongdae settles down on the pilot chair, mess of soap completely forgotten. The faster they reach Serena, the faster they deliver that ship and the faster Minseok and him can go back to Baekhyun and, hopefully, start planning a life together. And honestly, Jongdae cannot wait.

 

 

 

 

 

Serena, for the lack of a better qualifier, is blue. It's the first observation Jongdae makes as he lands on the dock behind Minseok's ship. The dock in itself isn't exactly blue, because it's made of a sort of glass composite that looks frail but is rock solid. It reflects the light shone on it like a mirror would. The water underneath it, however, is clearly blue, but in a strange and unnatural way. If Jongdae was asked to describe it, he would probably say that it seems to have the consistency of milk or, at least, a light syrup. The dock doesn't seem to be connected to anything keeping it afloat, even if it clearly is raised above the water. In fact, none of the infrastructures surrounding them appear to be holding onto anything, just casually hovering in the sky.

 

"Welcome to Serena," Minseok says as Jongdae joins him, voice lacking the excitement that usually comes with introducing someone to a new place. Instead, it is filled with dread and seriousness. That's when Jongdae realizes that it's too quiet.

 

The only thing Jongdae can hear is the sound of their footsteps as they walk up the bridge connecting the landing dock to the rest of the small buildings. They're all made of that same glass material, with some of their panels frosted to keep privacy. It all looks clean and well maintained, no spec of dust or sign of breakage visible. There's also no one around. Even the waves don't make a sound as they move all around Jongdae and Minseok. The silence is stifling, which pushes Jongdae to stick close to Minseok.

 

"Why is it so quiet?" Jongdae whispers, the oppressing atmosphere urging him to keep his voice down.

 

Minseok shrugs, but still pulls out a blade from underneath his long sleeve. "It's never especially loud in here. Kim Joonmyun likes order and peace. But I must say that I've never seen the city look so empty before."

 

Minseok's words do nothing to reassure Jongdae. He unclasps his thermogun from his belt, senses in alert as they walk deeper in the city. It's built in the same fashion as Vasenta, big arteries lined with frosted glassed skyscrapers, intersected by smaller alley-like roads leading to smaller buildings or tarmacs. Unlike Vasenta or Pau, however, everything is illuminated. It's only after a dozen of minutes of walking that Jongdae understands that the source of light is the water itself. Its glow a luminous pale blue that, reflected by the glass, becomes powerful enough to enlighten the city like a thousand suns would. There's no nook or cranny that isn't in plain sight.

 

It's partly why Jongdae is so unsettled by Serena. The fact that he can see everything, from the hiding places in the alleyways to the silhouettes of the furniture in the houses, should calm his anxiety, but it doesn't. In fact, the feeling that they are being watched increases as they get deeper in the city. It grows to the point where Jongdae spends more time checking behind him to make sure they aren't being followed than looking forward.

 

Neither Jongdae or Minseok exchange a word as they walk through the entire city of Serena. Kim Joonmyun's palace is situated on the opposite side of the dock they landed in. When Jongdae asks Minseok why they didn't land closer in the first place, Minseok responds that it would've been too dangerous.

 

"Serena is more of a headquarter for Kim Joonmyun's activities than an actual planet," he says, voice so low that Jongdae has to lean in to hear. "They let us land because we had a Serenian ship and because we landed far from their palace. If we came closer, they probably would've shot us without hesitation."

 

Jongdae swallows audibly. It certainly explains the lack of life in the city, but isn't reassuring one bit. If Minseok's words are true (and, really, Jongdae doesn't have a reason to doubt them), then it means that this delivery mission is even more dangerous than he expected. Jongdae grips his thermogun a little bit tighter.

 

"We're here," Minseok says after another couple of minutes of roaming the empty streets of Serena. Jongdae's head whips around to look at the building Minseok is designating with his hand.

 

Kim Joonmyun's palace is breathtaking. It's the only infrastructure that isn't completely made of glass. The parts that are, though, reflect the blue sheen of the water in myriads of soft pastel colors, hues of pinks and purples mixing in with sky blue in a soothing manner. The other material looks to be some type of gel. Most of the walls are made of it. They undulate with the breeze, creating a weird distortion that makes it seem like the palace is moving. They look to be clear, but, at the same time, it's impossible for Jongdae to make out what lies beyond them. The steps that lead to the entrance doors are frosted, like are most of the pillars supporting the structure of the palace, which only adds an element of sophistication to this already sophisticated building. Jongdae is in total awe.

 

"Don't be fooled by the beauty of this place," Minseok warns him as he starts climbing the steps, Jongdae hot on his heels. "Kim Joonmyun is a fancy bastard, but it doesn't make him any less ruthless."

 

Jongdae nods, mind still reeling from the sight. He has never seen anything as beautiful or magical as Kim Joonmyun's palace, which makes it even harder to cope with the danger he still feels buzzing in his veins. The place is almost too ferric to be the home of one of the most feared man of the galaxy. Unfortunately for Jongdae, reality decides to rebalance his assumptions.

 

Jongdae hasn't reached the top of the stairs for more than a second when he gets thrown on his knees by a colossal force on his shoulders. He drops down with a pained shout, knees bumping harshly against the glass floor. His arms are forcefully wrenched back, thermogun falling out of his hand, and tied with something cold and cutting. It breaks the skin of his wrists, digging into his flesh until it rests against his bone. The pain burns through his head until Jongdae can barely think about anything else. A quick look on his right informs him that Minseok isn't in a better situation, down and tied up like he is.

 

"Master Kim has been waiting for you, Kim Minseok," a light and high-pitched voice says from behind them. Jongdae can hear the person's footsteps coming closer until claws sink into his scalp and jerk his head backwards. "I have never seen you before. Who are you?"

 

The person asking the question is female. That much Jongdae knows just by looking at her, even upside down. From his position, the only thing he can see clearly is her breasts, molded to perfection in her skintight attire. They're so big that they are covering most of her face; only her four completely black eyes and the top of her yellow pixie cut hair is visible to Jongdae. She is heavily armed, with metal weapons that shine blue under the lights of Serena.

 

"Leave him alone, Seulgi," Minseok grunts, gaze murderous.

 

Seulgi chuckles but lets go of her grip on Jongdae's hair. Jongdae whines as her claws retract from his skull, leaving behind bleeding wounds. She walks from behind them to the front of the palace, escorted by what appears to be guards, according to the navy uniform they're wearing and the astronomical amount of weapons they carry. That's when Jongdae notices the tentacles. Eight long and green tentacles with suction cups as big as Jongdae's fist look to be coming out from Seulgi's back. Each of them is holding a sort of weapon, from metal swords to solar beams to... is that his thermogun?

 

"Finally ditched your human, Minseok?" Seulgi sneers, picking at her claw to remove Jongdae's hair from them in blatant disinterest. "I must say I'm disappointed. He was fun to toy around."

 

Minseok groans and makes an attempt to get on his feet. Immediately, two guards come forward to push him down again by harshly hitting him behind the knees. The sound of the hit pulls a wince out of Jongdae.

 

"You're a little bit dumb to come back around here," Seulgi continues as if nothing happened. "Master Kim was the most displease I've ever seen him when you took off with his personal ship and..."

 

"We're precisely here to give him back his ship," Jongdae says. It comes out angrier than he anticipated, but seeing Minseok in pain like this is unbearable. He's tired of being the third-wheel, only hanging around for the ride and doing nothing to help. "So if you would kindly show us the way, we'll be able to settle this misunderstanding once and for all and we can all go back to our own preoccupations."

 

Seulgi's four eyes widens at his sudden burst of courage. Then, she starts laughing. Her whole body shakes with the force of her laughter. It's so unexpected that even the guards look confused, sharing gazes between each other to try to come up with an appropriate reaction. "Are you giving me orders, Judean?"

 

Jongdae shakes his head, trying to appease her. The last thing he wants is to aggravate the situation. "Of course, not, I'm just..."

 

A sharp pop of tongue cuts him off. "I'll take you to Master Kim, since you asked so nicely," Seulgi declares. Her tentacles move in a synchronized fashion, urging the guards to haul Jongdae and Minseok to their feet.

 

They are led inside the palace by the tip of the guards' solar guns pointed against their back. Seulgi walks in front of them, giving Jongdae a clear view of how the pale skin of her back gives way to the green tentacles. It looks like she could retract them inside her body if she desired to. She leads them through a maze of corridors, entwined in a complex way. The place has clearly been designed to confused everyone that isn't familiar to the layout. It's a maze of glass panels and the same gel-like moving material. In a tight and enclosed space like the corridors, however, the slow and steady wave of the walls gives Jongdae nausea.

 

Fortunately, their trip through the maze doesn't last too long. Soon enough, Seulgi is pushing open a heavy-looking frosted door and urges them inside. The room they emerge in is gigantic, so gigantic in fact that Jongdae cannot see the ceiling. The walls go up and up until they get covered by the clouds. The blue hue is bright enough to cause blindness for the first few minutes of Jongdae standing there. After that initial window of time, however, Jongdae's eyes get used to it and he starts to discern more details.

 

First, there's people, maybe a dozen of them. They're all standing around a large basin of water, dressed in similar fashion as the guards escorting Seulgi. They don't appear to be as armed, but their aura still radiate power and danger.

 

Second, the room is bare. There's no throne, no piles of weapons waiting to be used, no tables or maps or anything to indicate that this is the headquarter of the most wanted and dangerous criminal of the universe. In fact, there's nothing except the aforementioned pool.

 

It's towards it that the guards are pushing Jongdae and Minseok. As soon as they reach the frosted outline of the basin, they are roughly shoved on their knees. Seulgi does the same, bending down until her forehead touches the floor. "Master Kim, the smugglers are here."

 

As soon as the words are out of Seulgi's mouth, almost as if summoned, a figure appears at the bottom of the pool. It's still too far to be discernible, but Jongdae can make out the shine of scales and the gleam of mortal claws. The figure propels itself to the surface. It makes the water of the basin splash everywhere, drenching not only Jongdae and Minseok but also Seulgi and the guards. They don't move an inch as the water hits them, almost as if they're used to it, which, after reflection, Jongdae assumes that they are. He, however, isn't used to it. He splutters, water going up his nose and in his ears. It hurts and he wants to blow his nose to get rid of it but can't with his hands still tied behind his back.

 

"Took you long enough, Kim Minseok," the figure says in a calm but bewitching voice. This siren is nothing like the one they encountered on Pau. They share some similarities, the lack of noticeable eyes being the most striking one, but the small siren girl wasn't as impressive. This man, however, is. His scales are black, but they shine blue under the lights. They are intersected by sharp spike-like protuberances. Without eyes, it's impossible to know where he's looking at, but even so, Jongdae can feel the weight of his gaze on him. It makes him want to cower and disappear.

 

"Kim Joonmyun," Minseok breathes out and Jongdae can hear the slight fear in his voice. "We came to..."

 

"I know why you're here," Kim Joonmyun cuts him off. It gives Jongdae the perfect opportunity to see that his mouth is filled with fangs, sharp and ready to tear open any opponent. Kim Joonmyun looks like a death angel, body made to destroy and kill. It's to be wondered why he needs that many guards when he could clearly take care of any opposition himself. "Do you think I would've let you land if I didn't recognize my ship? Or, should I say, the second-grade imitation of my ship you landed on my dock?"

 

Jongdae winces. For a second, he really thought that they managed to fool Kim Joonmyun into believing that they found the real ship. Of course, it would've been too simple and, as Jongdae has always known, nothing is simple in life. "We..."

 

"Still, you did good," Kim Joonmyun continues on without any indication that he noticed Jongdae's attempt to speak. It's starting to become incredibly old, this impossibility to let other people talk. Are all Serenians that rude? "You got me all the pieces I need to rebuild it. Good job!"

 

There's a mocking tone in his voice, underneath the genuine joy. It's Kim Joonmyun's voice, however, that attract Jongdae's attention. It almost seems like he expected them, or at least Minseok and Baekhyun, to collect all the pieces and come back to him with them, almost like all of this was already planned.

 

"Your new Judean toy is smart," Kim Joonmyun says. He's leaning back on his elbows, floating on the water with ease. There's a smirk on his face, and... did he just read Jongdae's mind?

 

"Yes," Kim Joonmyun answers Jongdae's unspoken question. "That's exactly what I'm doing, little Judean, so be careful what you think about. Nothing is a secret for me."

 

"Leave him alone, he has nothing to do with this," Minseok intervenes, grasping Kim Joonmyun's attention. Jongdae glances at him only to notice that he's struggling with his restrains. One of his hands is already free, tie loosen up enough for him to glide his wrist through the loop. Quickly, Jongdae starts to recite an old mantra to change his thoughts before Kim Joonmyun can read them. It's an old trick he taught himself back in the ranger's facility, when they used to have weekly lie detector tests.

 

"If he wasn't involved, you wouldn't have brought him here," Kim Joonmyun states. He straightens up until he's in a sitting position in the basin. Like this, he towers over Jongdae's and Minseok's kneeling form. "Not that it's a concern anymore, since you won't be living any time soon."

 

"What?" The question is out of Jongdae's mouth before his mouth can even formulate it. "We did what you wanted! We got you a ship like you asked and..."

 

Jongdae never gets to finish his sentence. A tentacle wraps itself around his throat in a vice grip, leaving him completely breathless. Minseok is on his feet in an instant, hands untied. He jumps on Seulgi's back, blade slashing through her skin. She screams and tumbles out of his reach. Minseok falls badly on his back and groans. Before he can push through the pain and get back up, tentacles grab his ankles and wrists and hold him in the air.

 

"Nobody talks to Master Kim like that," Seulgi snarls. There's a nasty wound on the side of her neck, close to her grills but not enough to cause real damage. Kim Joonmyun chuckles but lifts his hand to appease her.

 

"You effectively brought back everything I wanted," Kim Joonmyun says, always as calm as before. "But you've been a pain in the ass for too long and I'm getting tired of you. At first, I tolerated your little quest for survival, but you've mingled in my business too many times."

 

Minseok opens his mouth to retort but Seulgi is faster. She jams a tentacle in his mouth, effectively cutting off his words and his breathing. Jongdae's eyes widen and he tries to break free from his restrain to help him, without success.

 

"Don't worry, I won't kill you," Kim Joonmyun tells them with fake reassurance in his voice. The smirk on his lips scream cruel and Jongdae screws his eyes shut. This is it. He'll never get to see the rest of the universe. He'll never get to grow old, never get to go back to Jundo, never get to do all the things he has aspired to do. He’ll never get to explain to Minseok and Baekhyun how much they changed his life, how much he’s grateful that they did.

 

It's that thought that wakes up the fire in Jongdae. He can't let that happen, not when he finally found the courage to make his own decisions. He waits with bathed breaths until Seulgi's hold on his neck loosen. As soon at it happens and Seulgi's tentacle dangle in front of his face, Jongdae bites it.

 

The reaction is immediate. Seulgi screams in pain. She looses control of her other tentacles, dropping Minseok directly in the basin. The splash distracts the guards and Kim Joonmyun long enough for Jongdae to grab the knife strapped to the closest guard's ankle. He cuts his restrain open in a precise flick of the wrist and jumps to his feet. By now, Minseok has had the time to swim out of the pool and take place besides Jongdae.

 

"Get them," Kim Joonmyun roars. He adds the bewitching touch only sirens possess. The order becomes law and, like robots, the guards turn around to obey. It becomes clear to Jongdae that there's no way they can stay and fight. They're heavily outnumbered and without decent weapons, they'll get killed in less time than it takes to say. A quick look at Minseok confirms that his boyfriend has reached the same conclusion. Without hesitation, they sprint towards the exit.

 

"How do we get out of here?" Jongdae screams at Minseok as they run in the maze of glass corridors. He doesn't remember the path they took and every damn intersections look the same. It becomes fairly obvious that they're running in circles and not actually going forward.

 

"I don't know," Minseok answers, sounding out of breath. Jongdae stops to look behind him. Minseok looks exhausted. There's no color in his face anymore and he's panting harshly. The leg he fell on is dragging behind him a little as he runs. "I've never been in here on my own, always escorted."

 

Jongdae gets on Minseok's level and loops an arm around his waist, urging Minseok to lean on him. "There must be something to indicate which path is right," he says as they resume running. "Some kind of symbol on the walls or trick of the light."

 

They don't stop another time, determined to put as much distance between them and the guards. They look for clues at the same time, but come out empty handed. Quickly, Minseok's weight takes a toll on Jongdae's own reserve of energy until even putting a foot in front of the other is a challenge. They can still hear the footsteps of the guards behind them though and it's all the motivation Jongdae needs to keep going.

 

"I'm going to get you," Seulgi's voice resonates in the corridor. It makes Jongdae's hair raise on his arms but before he even has the time to react, a tentacle wraps around his ankle and pulls. He falls on the ground, face smashing against the glass. Jongdae feels his nose give up under the pressure, blood tainting the front of his ranger's shirt.

 

In a quick succession of movement, Jongdae finds himself flat on his back, Seulgi straddling his waist. She has a tentacle on every of his limbs, immobilizing him completely. Her eyes are filled with anger as she bends down until her face isn't even an inch away from Jongdae's. "You're going to pay for what you did," she snarls as she raises her hand, claws fully extended. Jongdae closes his eyes, waiting for her to tear his throat or rip his beating heart right out of his chest.

 

Surprisingly, nothing of that happens. A small hiccup reaches Jongdae's ears. It prompts him to open his eyes and look at Seulgi. Her eyes are wide open in surprise as she seems to struggle for breath. Then, she starts convulsing, chest heaving and her tentacles loosen their hold on Jongdae's limbs. Her eyes roll to the back of her head and then, she explodes. Pieces of her body fly out everywhere, covering the floor and Jongdae in purple blood. There's even some in Jongdae's mouth and he hurriedly spits it out in disgust.

 

"Missed me?" A familiar voice says and Jongdae rolls on his belly to see Baekhyun standing in the middle of the corridor, familiar black catsuit wrapped around his body like a second skin. He's juggling with two small beads of solar lava and Jongdae puts two and two together.

 

"What are you doing here?" Minseok asks as he props himself to his feet. As soon as he puts a little bit of weight on his right leg, however, he winces and loses his balance. "You were supposed to rest!"

 

"That I did," Baekhyun confirms. He extends an arm to Jongdae to help him get up, not minding one bit the blood still dripping from his skin. "But then, I figured out you would need help. You can thank me later."

 

Minseok frowns. "It's for your safety that we..." A loud bang interrupts him. The three of them look down the hall to see a herd of guards running towards them, solarguns gleaming with unleashed energy.

 

"I don't think this is the right moment for this discussion," Jongdae states. Baekhyun nods vigorously and with both of their strength combined, they manage to lift Minseok up and sprint. Minseok protests, obviously, saying that like this, they can't defend themselves if the guards try to attack them.

 

"The point is to get the fuck out of here," Jongdae retorts, arms looped around Minseok's upper body. "Not to fight and fry their fucking brains out."

 

Baekhyun laughs. He's leading them through the tunnels because he's "not stupid and made sure to memorize the right path". So far, Jongdae feels like they're making progress, but it might only be the desperation kicking in. "I think it's the first time I heard you swear, Jongdae," Baekhyun comments.

 

"Hey, I'm covered in I-don't-know-which-species' blood, I'm tired, my head hurts, my arms hurts and I almost got killed thrice today. Give the guy a break, would you?" Jongdae whines. The guards are coming closer and closer, rapidly gaining ground on them now that they're slowed down by Minseok's injury. Fortunately, they're almost out of the maze. Jongdae can see the doors leading outside.

 

"Go on," Jongdae shouts, putting Minseok in Baekhyun's arms. "Get him to the ship and get it ready, I'm going to buy some time."

 

"What?" Baekhyun asks, dumbfounded, but they don't have time for discussions. Jongdae pushes him towards the doors, urging him to just "go, go!".

 

Jongdae spins on his heels to face the herd of guards running his way. He's armed with nothing but his courage, fueled by fear and love. That might be what makes the difference in the end. Jongdae charges, a war cry roaring from his throat. It takes the guards by surprise and their split-second of hesitation is what costs them their lives. Jongdae wrenches the solargun right out of the first guard's hands and, without a moment of doubt, shoots. The backlash of the detonation sends him flying against the wall, but the bullet hits its target. The guard falls on the ground in a puddle of blood, head blown off.

 

The reaction is immediate. A salve of bullets starts raining where Jongdae is standing. He jumps out of the way, ducking under the bullets as they come towards him. They don't make a single damage to the glass structure around them as they explode against it. Jongdae replicates quickly, firing rounds after round of solar energy until his gun is empty. Swearing, he throws it at the closest guard's face before dropping to the ground to avoid another wave of bullets.

 

Thinking that he must've bought enough time for Baekhyun to get Minseok to the ship, Jongdae decides to call it quit. He sprints to the doors, zigzagging left and right to try and dodge as much onslaughts as possible. It works, for the most part as he’s being touched only by debris from the explosions and not by actual bullets.

 

"Come on, come on," Jongdae murmurs under his breath as he pushes open the heavy doors of Kim Joonmyun's palace. His lungs are protesting against the effort, his legs are quivering underneath his body weight, but he has to hold on. He's so close to freedom that he can almost taste it. He only needs to reach the small compact ship waiting at the bottom of the stairs and he'll be free, free to leave the rangers, free to want things for himself, free to dream. He can't give up now.

 

The only problem is that there's no cover beyond the palace walls. By going down the stairs, Jongdae gives a privilege position to the guards to shoot him in the back. There's nothing he'll be able to do to protect himself. As soon as the thoughts form in his mind, a violent detonation  thunders behind him. Jongdae spins on his heels to see devastation: guards on fire or completely disintegrated, shards of weapons flying around in the air.

 

"Jongdae, run!" It's Baekhyun and he's standing on the ship's cockpit, throwing solar lava beads with his bare hands like he's not afraid of burning himself. Jongdae doesn't wait a second and sprints down the stairs at the risk of breaking his neck. Behind him, the guards are still being bombarded by the beads. The explosions make the ground tremble under his feet but he keeps his balance by flailing his arms around wildly. It's not elegant by any means but it does the job.

 

Jongdae pulls himself in the ship by the almost closed boarding ladder. There's only enough space for him to crawl through the small opening before it closes shut behind him. Out of breath, he flops down on the floor as Minseok, panicked voice resonating in the cockpit, screams commands to the autopilot system. Soon enough, Serena is only a small spec in a sky full of stars.

 

"That was fucking insane," Jongdae says once he has his breathing under control. He hears footsteps coming closer until Baekhyun plops down next to him on the floor. His hair is matted to his forehead with sweat but there's a beaming smile on his face.

 

"Thank the stars I listened to my guts or you would've still been with Kim Joonmyun there," Baekhyun states. He lays down on the floor and crosses his arms behind his neck in a perfect display of nonchalance, as if he didn't put his life in danger. "He's lovely, isn't he?"

 

Jongdae scoffs. "One of the most charming people I've ever met," he says, sarcasm dripping from his tone. "I'm glad to be out of there, he's scary as fuck."

 

Baekhyun chuckles. He leans on one elbow to card his fingers through Jongdae's hair. Jongdae purrs at the touch, until Baekhyun accidentally caresses one of the wounds left behind by Seulgi's claws. Jongdae hisses at the pain and Baekhyun removes his hand like he's been burned. "Oh damn, you're hurt too."

 

Minseok, still seated in the pilot's seat a couple of feet away from them, turns around to face them. "Of course we're hurt, we've almost been tortured and killed. Which brings me to the subject: why are you here? I thought you were too injured to fly out."

 

Baekhyun rolls his eyes. He has resumed stroking Jongdae's hair, this time being careful of the ranger's injuries. It calms Jongdae down quite a bit and, with the adrenaline starting to wear off, Jongdae can feel himself feeling drowsier by the second. However, he doesn't want to fall asleep. There's things they need to talk about, things he needs to tell Minseok and Baekhyun.

 

"You decided that I was too injured," Baekhyun contradicts with annoyance. "I remember clearly stating that I thought I could come. Anyway, the point is that you needed help and I came to the rescue. You could thank me, you know?"

 

Jongdae chuckles and does just that, reaching up to pat Baekhyun on the cheek. "Are you feeling any better?" he asks the human.

 

Baekyun nods. "The medic at Yixing's place really patched me up good, I feel as good as new." There's no hint of lies or deception in Baekhyun's eyes, only pure and unadulterated truth. It reassures Jongdae a whole lot, to the point where he can't help but pull Baekhyun in by the small hairs of his nape and plant a kiss on his lips. Jongdae can feel the surprise on his lips, until the human settles in the embrace and reciprocates.

 

"I love you," Jongdae murmurs against Baekhyun's lips. "I love you so much, both of you," he repeats louder this time to make sure that Minseok can hear too. "I don't want to leave you. I don't want to be a ranger, I don't want to go back to that boring life. I love you and I want to roam the universe with you. I just... I can't go back to being lonely and miserable on my own. You're crazy and you're doing illegal things and I'll probably have to spend my whole life running away from the law but I want it. I want to be a rebel and steal stuff and kill people. Well, maybe not kill people but..."

 

"Breathe," Minseok says, putting a comforting hand on Jongdae's shoulders. Jongdae obeys, realizing now that he's been rambling without breathing for a while now. He doesn't dare look up and see their reaction to his speech. It's the moment of truth now, the do or die, the ultimate resolution.

 

"We love you too," Minseok says at last. "We would be more than happy to have you with us."

 

Jongdae cannot believe what he's hearing. He searches for signs of lies but sees nothing but adoration and love in their eyes. "Are you sure? I mean, I'll probably only be a pain in the ass and..."

 

"Oh, that's for sure," Baekhyun sneers. The lovesick smile on his face sweetens the blow of his words. "But you'll get the hang of it, I know."

 

For a moment, Jongdae doesn't say anything. He looks at them, the two smugglers who barged in his apartment barely two months ago. They're ruthless and lead a dangerous lifestyle. They kidnapped him from his home, from his life, to force him on a journey filled with assassination attempts, betrayals and pain. But they also showed him where his strengths lie. They showed him that he's more than what life has made him believe to be. For that, Jongdae will be forever grateful.

 

More than anything, however, Baekhyun and Minseok showed him what it's like to love, what it's like to be loved. And that's why it doesn't matter what path they're following or what their past looks like. The only thing that matters is that Jongdae loves them and that they love him.

 

"Guess we're not going to the ranger's facility?" Minseok asks. He's still rubbing comforting circles on Jongdae's back. Jongdae chuckles and shakes his head. There's no way he's going back there any time soon. "Where are we going, then?"

 

"I feel like taking a small vacation after all this ordeal," Baekhyun says and Jongdae already knows where this is going. He doesn't know if Kim Joonmyun or his army are still after them, trying to track them down and eliminate them for the damage they caused. After all, Kim Joonmyun was still very alive when they left Serena behind. But, in this moment in time, Jongdae doesn't care. The only thing he wants is to be with Baekhyun and Minseok and, honestly, some beach time sounds like fun.

 

"Straight to Fantasia, then!", Jongdae hollers, prompting the auto-pilot to change its course. Minseok chuckles and shakes his head, but doesn't protest. Baekhyun leans down to prop his chin on Jongdae's shoulders and, with their presence on either side of him, Jongdae can feel the reminder of his anxiety die down. And as Baekhyun and Minseok start bickering about what they want to do first when they land, Jongdae can't help but thank the stars for whoever that tipped them the wrong apartment number.

 

**Author's Note:**

> THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING!!!! Kudos and comments are loved! Have an amazing day/night and thank you for supporting my work and this fest! See you on the next one, hopefully!


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